Effectiveness of ameliorant and fertilizer on improving soil fertility, growth and yields of red chili in degraded peatland

Abstract

The research was carried out on degraded peat land in Kalampangan village, Sebangau District, Palangkaraya, from June to October 2017. The treatments given were factor I; Types of ameliorant material (A1;100% cow manure, A2;50% cow manure+50% biochar, A3;50% cow manure+50% compost from weed in situ, A4; 50% cow manure+50% ash from weeds in situ), and factor II; Dosage of NPK fertilization (D0; without NPK, D1;50% of recommended dose; D2;100% of recommended dose, D3;150% recommended dose). The treatment was arranged in a factorial randomized block design (RBD), and repeated 3 times. Observation variables include the soil pH and P-available, The number of fruit per plant, the weight of chili and chili yields. The results showed that the highest soil pH was indicated by A4D1 treatment. However, the highest soil P indicated by the A4D3 treatment, as well as for the highest chilli yield indicated by A4D3 treatment reached 19 t/ha or increased 6% from the recommended dose (18 t/ha) on the same ameliorant treatment (A4), and increased up to 43% compared to the ameliorant A1 (100% cow manure) on the same dose of NPK fertilizer.