The differences in true seed shallot nursery growth due to effect of type and thickness media

Abstract

Currently, botanical seeds of shallots or the true seed shallot (TSS) are becoming more accessible. The problem is that seeding botanical seeds requires the proper media to support the seeds to grow healthy and produce tubers as qualified as that from tuber seeds. The study aimed to obtain the seedling media's type and thickness to support optimal TSS growth. The study was arranged in a factorial design with two treatment factors: media type and media thickness. The environmental design is a Split Plot, with the main plot being a media type consisting of soil (soil + organic fertilizer + husk charcoal) and cocopeat (cocopeat + organic fertilizer + husk charcoal) as sub-plots is the thickness of the planting medium, with two levels of 3 and 5 cm, with five replications. The results showed that based on shoot length, stem diameter, root length, and total chlorophyll content, it was found that soil and cocopeat media with a thickness of 5 cm gave the best vegetative growth as well as the chlorophyll content compared to soil and cocopeat media with a thickness of 3 cm. The results of this study provide information that using media with a thickness of 5 cm gives better seed growth than media of 3 cm.