Uji karakteristik water absorbent pati singkong serta pengaruhnya terhadap tanaman cabai pada tanah bertekstur pasir

Abstract

Tin mine tailing in Bangka Belitung island covers significantly large area. Unfortunately, this tailing contain very high sand (>90%) but very low clay (<5%) and very low organic matter (<1%), that is has very low water retention ability. Common effort to overcome low water retention problem is by using intensive irigation. However, intensive use of irigation tends to be inefficient. To reduce the intensity of irigation, the use of water absorbent is presently began widely introduced, one of them is SWA (Super Water Absorbent) Cassava Starch. A study to examine the characteristics of SWA Cassava Starch and observe its effect to chilli plants in sand-textured soils was conducted in a greenhouse. The study consisted of two series of experiments. First, evaluation of SWA Cassava Starch (in swelling condition) degradability based on the decrease in the weight of SWA (swelling) toward the time. Second, evaluation of the effect of water absorbent on chili plant growth using Completely Randomized Design with three treatment factors namely (1) Water absorbent consisting of 8 standard; (2) sand soil consisting of 2 standard, and (3) Watering consisting of 2 standard. SWA Cassava Starch in applied in wet method before which SWA is soaked in water until it reaches equilibrium. Result of the experiments showed that SWA Cassava Starch (in swelling condition) degradability tend to be the same on the Regosol soil or sand tailings simulation soil. Second experiment indicated that in general water absorbent had no significant effect on chili plants growth, eventhough SWA Cassava Starch treatment with a dose of 0.1 g/kg in combination with chitosan tends to give a better effect. Chili plants growth at “a without watering treatment” with SWA treatment have a shorter life cycle compared to “once a week watering treatment”.