Studi Serapan Air Akar Udara Tanaman Vanili saat Mengalami Gagal Fungsi Akar Utama

Abstract

Tanaman vanili sering kali terserang penyakit yang menyebabkan jaringan perakaran utama menjadi terputus sehingga fungsi mensuplai air dan hara ke daun terhenti. Penelitian dilakukan untuk mengevaluasi peran serapan air pada akar udara serta implikasinya terhadap pertumbuhan dan status air dalam jaringan saat tanaman vanili mengalami gagal fungsi akar utama. Penelitian dilaksanakan di Rumah Kaca Balittro pada periode Juli 2021-April 2022. Penelitian menguji faktor tunggal (pemberian akses serapan air pada akar udara saat tanaman vanili mengalami gagal fungsi akar utama) menggunakan desain Rancangan Kelompok Lengkap Teracak (RKLT) dengan ulangan sebanyak lima kali. Berdasarkan hasil penelitian, pemberian akses serapan air pada akar udara berpengaruh sangat nyata terhadap pertumbuhan tajuk. Tanaman dengan akses serapan air akar udara terbukti dapat menjaga pertumbuhan sulur dan daun dengan baik hingga pekan ke-8 setelah mengalami gagal fungsi akar utama, dibandingkan tanaman yang tanpa akses serapan air pada akar udara yang mengalami stagnasi tumbuh pada pekan ke-5. Di sisi lain, variasi respons perubahan status air jaringan tidak terdeteksi secara nyata sepanjang pengujian.

Vanilla plants are often attacked by diseases causing the terrestrial root becomes disconnected so that the function of supplying water and nutrients to the leaves is stopped. This study aimed to evaluate the role of water uptake in aerial roots and its implications for growth and water status in tissues when vanilla plants experienced terrestrial root dysfunction. The research was carried out in the Balittro greenhouse in the period July 2021-April 2022. The study used a single factor (providing access to water uptake in aerial roots when the vanilla plant experienced terrestrial root dysfunction) in the Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) and was replicated 5 times. The results showed that providing access to water uptake in aerial roots had a very significant effect on crown growth. Plants with access to water uptake in aerial roots were proven to be able to maintain the growth of stem and leave well up to 8 weeks after experiencing terrestrial root dysfunction, compared to plants without access to water uptake in aerial roots which experienced stagnation in growth at 5 weeks. On the other hand, variations in the response to changes in tissue water status were not detected significantly throughout the research.