Pengaruh Penggunaan Zeoponik dan Media Komersial terhadap Pertumbuhan Bibit Tanaman Perkebunan dan Kehutanan

Abstract

Saat ini banyak media tumbuh tanaman (MTT) yang memiliki permasalahan dalam menumbuhkan bibit. Keterbatasan MTT yang sering dijumpai adalah rendahnya daya dukung daya hantar listrik (DHL) akibat kapasitas tukar kation (KTK) rendah. Hal ini dikarenakan penggunaan material MTT yang memiliki KTK yang rendah sehingga penambahan pupuk menyebabkan lonjakan DHL. Zeolit memiliki KTK yang tinggi sehingga berpotensi digunakan sebagai bahan baku MTT. Untuk mendapatkan media tumbuh tanaman dengan sifat-sifat kimia dan fisika yang sesuai untuk perkembangan bibit tanaman, zeolit perlu ditambah dengan kompos dan cocopeat serta pupuk makro dan mikro. Media campuran tersebut dinamakan “zeoponik”. Zeoponik diharapkan memiliki KTK tinggi dan daya sangga terhadap DHL tinggi. Penambahan kompos dan cocopeat diharapkan menambah ketersediaan unsur mikro dan daya serap media terhadap air. Penelitian ini bertujuan mempelajari sifat-sifat kimia dan pengaruh penggunaan media tumbuh tanaman zeoponik terhadap pertumbuhan bibit tanaman mahoni, gaharu, dan durian serta membandingkan dengan media tumbuh tanaman komersial. Penelitian ini dilaksanakan pada bulan Oktober 2021 hingga bulan Maret 2022 di rumah kaca Departemen Ilmu Tanah dan Sumberdaya Lahan, Fakultas Pertanian, IPB University. Percobaan dilakukan dengan model rancangan acak lengkap (RAL) dengan 1 perlakuan yaitu jenis media tumbuh tanaman yang terdiri dari zeoponik dan 4 media komersial yaitu media A, media B, media C, dan media D. Percobaan menggunakan 3 jenis tanaman masing-masing terdapat 3 kali ulangan sehingga terdapat 45 satuan percobaan. Bibit tanaman mahoni yang berusia 2 bulan, bibit tanaman gaharu berusia 5 bulan, dan bibit tanaman durian yang berusia 1 bulan dipindahkan ke dalam media sebanyak 2 liter dalam polybag ukuran 25x25 cm. Parameter yang diamati yaitu tinggi tanaman, jumlah daun, lebar daun, panjang daun, dan diameter batang. Analisis media tumbuh tanaman yaitu pH, DHL, N-NO3, N-NH4, KTK. Berdasarkan hasil penelitian, media tumbuh tanaman zeoponik memiliki pH netral, N tersedia tinggi, dan KTK tinggi. Tingginya KTK zeoponik dapat mempertahankan DHL tetap rendah dibandingkan dengan media lainnya. Pertumbuhan bibit tanaman mahoni dan bibit tanaman gaharu paling baik ditanam menggunakan media zeoponik. Perlakuan dengan zeoponik menghasilkan tanaman dengan pertumbuhan yang paling baik. Pertumbuhan bibit tanaman durian yang ditanam menggunakan media A lebih baik dibandingan media zeoponik.

Currently, many plant growth media (PGM) have problems in growing seeds. There is limitation of plant growth media that is commonly found is the low buffering capacity of the electrical conductivity (EC) due to low cation exchange capacity (CEC). This is due to the use of PGM material which has a low CEC so that the addition of fertilizer causes a surge in EC. Zeolite has a high CEC so that it is potentially used as material for PGM. In order to obtain media for plant growth with chemical and physical properties suitable for the development of plant seedlings, zeolite needs to be added with compost and cocopeat as well as macro and micro fertilizers. Theis mixed media is called "zeoponic". Zeoponic is expected to have a high CEC and a high buffer against EC. The addition of compost and cocopeat is expected to increase the availability of micro elements and the water capacity of media. This study aims to investigate the effect of zeoponic plant growth media on the growth of mahogany, agarwood, and durian seedlings and to compare them with commercial PGM. This research was conducted from October 2021 to March 2022 in the greenhouse of the Department of Soil Science and Land Resources, Faculty of Agriculture, IPB University. The experiment was conducted using a completely randomized design model (RDM) with 1 treatment, namely the type of plant growth media consisting of zeoponic and 4 commercial media, namely media A, media B, media C, and media D. The experiment used 3 types of plants, each contained 3 replicates so that there were 45 experimental units. Mahogany seedlings aged 2 months, agarwood plant seedlings aged 5 months, and durian plant seedlings aged 1 month were transferred to 2 liters of media in polybags measuring 25x25 cm. Parameters observed were plant height, number of leaves, leaf width, leaf length, and stem diameter. Analysis of plant growth media, namely pH, EC, NO3-N, NH4- N, CEC. The results showed that the zeoponic plant growth media had a neutral pH, high available N, and high CEC. The high zeoponic CEC can keep EC low compared to other media. The growth of mahogany plant seedlings and agarwood seedlings were best planted using zeoponic media. Treatment with zeoponic produced plants with the best growth. The growth of durian seedlings grown using A media was better than zeoponic media.