Earthworm Population Density in Sugarcane Cropping System Applied with Various Quality of Organic Matter

Abstract

Earthworms population in the soil are greatly impacted by agricultural management, yet little is known about how the quality and quantity of organic matter addition interact in sugarcane cropping system to earthworm population. This study describes the effect of various organic matter and application rates on earthworms in sugarcane cropping system. Earthworms were collected in April, July and December from 48 experimental plots under five kinds of organic matter application : (1) cattle manure, (2) filter cake of sugar mill, (3) sugarcane trash, (4) mixture of cattle manure+filter cake, and (5) mixture of cattle manure+sugarcane trash. There were three application rates of the organic matter (5, 10, and 15 ton ha -1 ). The treatments were arranged in factorial block randomize design with three replications and one treatment as a control (no organic input). Earthworms were collected using monolith sampling methods and hand-sorted from each plot, and measured its density (D) (indiv.m -2 ), biomass (B) (g m -2 ) and B/D ratio (g/indiv.). All the plots receiving organic matter input had higher earthworm density, biomass, and B/D ratio than the control. The highest earthworm population density was found in the plot receiving application of sugarcane trash (78 indiv.m -2 ) and the mixture of cattle manure+sugarcane trash (84 indiv.m -2 ). The increase in application rates of organic matter could increase the earthworm density and biomass. Earthworm population density also appeared to be strongly influenced by the quality of organic matter, such as the C-organic, N, C/N ratio, lignin, polyphenols, and cellulose content. Earthworm preferred low quality organic matter. It was caused by the higher energy of low quality organic matter than high quality organic matter. Our finding s suggest that the input of low quality organic matter with application rate as 10 ton ha -1 is important for maintaining earthworm population and soil health in sugarcane land.

Impact of Litter Quality and Earthworm Populations on Seruk Spring Forest’s Soil Characteristic

“…Experimental research conducted in sugarcane fields in Malang Regency showed that earthworms will be found in areas with high organic matters (Nurhidayati et al, 2012), but this condition was not found in this study. However, research conducted in the peat forest in Central Kalimantan showed a similar result, where the area with a high litter thickness was not a preferred habitat for earthworms (Maftu'ah & Susanti, 2009).…”

“…In Indonesia, research on earthworms has not been widely conducted, especially those related to their indirect benefits on a spring's conservation. Earthworm research in Indonesia was mostly related to their benefits to the agricultural area (Nurhidayati, Arisoesilaningsih, Suprayogo, & Hairiah, 2012), earthworm as bioindicator on polluted soil (Joko, Anggoro, Sunoko, & Rachmawati, 2017), and their benefit to reclamation in the mining area (Nugroho, Widuri, & Sayektiningsih, 2018). The activity of earthworms will also benefit the absorption of rainwater into the soil which will maintain the groundwater and water flow regulation (Dewi & Senge, 2015).…”

Diversity of soil macrofauna under sugarcane monoculture and two different natural vegetation types

“…The Climograph drawn during the sugarcane growth season has confirmed that the first sampling took place during the dry season, a period of low rainfall (Figure 2). At the sugarcane area, the negative effect on taxa diversity was worse due to the recent crop harvest with burning of harvest residues (Portilho et al, 2011;Nurhidayati, 2012). Soil macrofauna communities at the Atlantic forest area, situated in the upland part of the study area, were more affected by climatic conditions than the Sandbank ones.…”

“…Furthermore, soil tillage is traditionally with use of various agricultural machinery mainly made with disc plows, dish harrows and subsoilers (Portilho et al, 2011;Tavares et al, 2015;Surendran et al, 2016) that negatively affect soil aggregation and reduce biological activity (Benito et al, 2008). In addition to modifying soil physico-chemical characteristics, sugarcane cultivation also produces environmental chemical contamination and soil compaction (Iwai et al, 2008;Nurhidayati et al, 2012;Siqueira et al, 2013).…”

Organik Matter: It’s Role in Sustainable Farming of Sugarcane

“…Di Ethophia, penambahan kompos 15 ton/ha dan 46 kg N/ha dapat meningkatkan kadar C, N, P dan K tanah liat, serta produksi dan rendemen tebu (Thesome et al, 2014). Pada lahan tebu di Malang Selatan, Jawa Timur, penambahan bahan organik berupa pupuk kandang, seresah tebu dan blotong dapat meningkatkan populasi cacing tanah dan mikrorganime tanah (Nurhidayati et al, 2012).…”