Application of biocompost enriched with arbuscular mycorrhizae for the growth of Allium cepa L.

Abstract

Synthetic technology application in the planting center of onion (Allium cepa L) Enrekang district, Indonesia, has passed the threshold recommendation dosage of manufacturer and agricultural extension. The synthetic fertilizer application with high dosage and inefficient nutrient absorption by plants is a problem that must be solved. So that, the proposed solution hypothesis is the application of biocompost enriched with Arbuscular Mycorrhizae (AM) as biological agents can reduce synthetic fertilizers use and absorption nutrients increase by plants. The aim of research to determine the growth of Allium cepa given dosage of biocompost enriched with AM, and research novelty are modification of innovation biocompost with AM as biological agent for growth of Allium cepa. The research was conducted for six months using model of Randomized Block Design. The treatment dosage of biocompost enriched with AM, are BM0 (control: Allium cepa planting method of local farmers); BM1 (Dosage of biocompost 100 kg.plot-1+ AM); and BM2 (Dosage of biocompost 200 kg.plot-1+AM), enrichment of biocompost with AM was carried out by mixing 2 kg of AM propagules for each treatment. The observed research variables are leaves number, root length, root diameter, root surface area, and tuber number. Observational data in the field and laboratory were analyzed using analysis of variance and Duncan's test. The results showed that the biocompost at a dose of 200 kg.plot-1 enriched with AM showed better growth in leaf number, root length, root diameter, root surface area, and the number of tubers compared to other treatments. So that the application of biocompost at a dose of 200 kg.plot-1 is the main finding in this study and can be recommended as a good dose for the production of Allium cepa which is environmentally friendly. This research supports sustainable and environmentally friendly agricultural systems which are the scope of healthy future agriculture.