Effect of Light Intensity on Phenology and Morphological Characteristics of Aglaonema Bigroy (Aglaonema sp.) Leaves

Abstract

Leaf phenology is the period of leaf development that is influenced by environmental factors. One environmental factor that is very influential is light intensity. Limited information on the phenology and morphological characters of aglaonema results in a lack of knowledge about the appropriate environmental requirements for the growth and development of its leaves. The research aims to analyze the phenology and morphological characteristics of Aglaonema sp. leaves at different light intensities. The research used a single factor Completely Randomized Design experiment consisting of three treatment levels, namely P0 without shade, P1 with 50% shade, and P2 with 75% shade. The treatment was repeated nine times so that a total of 27 experimental unit samples were obtained. The sample was taken using purposive sampling technique. Observations were made at the stages of leaf buds, mature leaves, wilted leaves, leaf color, leaf size, stalk length, and environmental factors. Qualitative data was analyzed descriptively and quantitative data was analyzed using the ANOVA test and 95% DNMRT follow-up test. The results of the research showed that there was a difference in the average length of the leaf development phase in the shade treatment which was higher than without shade, the average length of this phase in the three treatments was 58, 81, and 85 days respectively. Meanwhile, there are also differences in the morphological characteristics of the leaves, namely that the shade treatment has an average leaf size and petiole length that is greater than without shade. These sizes were successively in the three treatments, namely mean leaf width 6.856, 8.411, and 8.589 cm, and leaf length 15.167, 17.867, and 18.067 cm, and leaf petiole length 5.989, 7.733, and 7.989 cm. The environmental factor that influences is the intensity of light with the most optimal paranet shade, namely paranet density of 75%.