The effect of ameliorant on peat soil properties and shallots productivity in peatlands

Abstract

Shallot farming on peatland has physical, chemical and biological constraints which does not support crop growth properly. These constraints can usually be treated with amelioration. It is therefore important to understand the effects of applying ameliorant on soil properties and shallots productivity. The study was conducted in Central Kalimantan Province of Indonesia from April to August 2017. In this study, ameliorant such as 10 t ha-1 mineral soil + 4 t ha-1 dolomite + 5 t ha-1 manure has been applied into 0 - 20 cm soil depth. Furthermore, NPK fertilizer, peat fertilizer, bio fertilizer, mulch and or a combination thereof had been added as the treatments. The results showed that application of mineral soil + dolomite + manure was able to improve the physical, and chemical properties of soil on all treatments such as increases in bulk density, mineral content, pH, Ca, Mg, K, base saturation, and P, so that the improved soil condition can support the shallots growth properly. The shallot dry weight production ranged from 9.60 to 15.49 t ha-1. As a comparison, Indonesia's national average shallots productions is 9.31 t ha-1. This finding indicates that shallots farming can be considered as the alternative for peatlands utilization.