Pengaruh Aplikasi Senyawa Humat Terhadap Sifat Kimia Tanah Vertisol dan Pertumbuhan Tanaman Jagung (Zea mays).

Abstract

Vertisol is one of the potential soil type that can be used for agriculture activity intensively. This soil has high pH, cation exchange capacity (CEC), and base saturation percentage, but it has high potassium fixation that causes inefficiency in fertilization. Vertisol is considered as fertile soils, large cracks and hard soil consistency in drought seasons, sticky consistency in rainy seasons, and high potassium fixations are problems that are considered serious if the soil is used for the agriculture land. The purpose of this research are to find out the effects of applications of several dosages of humic substance to the chemical properties of vertisol, also the effects of applications of humic substance to the growth of the corn plant. This research was done in the green house university farm of Bogor Agriculture University. This research was done since September 2008 until February 2009. Soil analysis was done in the laboratory of land physical resource development, laboratory of physics and soil conservation, and laboratory of chemistry and soil fertility, Soil Science and Land Resource Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Bogor Agriculture University. Soils are applied with dosages of humic substance which are H0 (0 l/ha), H1 (5 l/ha)), H2 (10 l/ha), dan H3 (25 l/ha). The results of this research showed that addition of humic substance does not gives a significant increase to the soil chemical properties of vertisol generally. Soil acidity (pH) showed a relatively same value in all dosages that which were 7,49 - 7,51. Base saturation that was also analyzed in each application showed a percentage of >100%., where bases that analyzed were dominated by Ca and Mg Cations. CEC showed a small increase for all treatment. The highest increase of CEC is in H1 which is 30,76 me/100g from control which is 27,92 me/100g. C-organic showed a relatively same value for each application which is in the range of 1,05% in H1 and 1,22% in H3. Application of humic substance showed an increase in plant height, wet mass, and dry mass. But showed the same value relatively in the numbers of leaves of the corn.