Upland Rice Growth after Low-Input Amendments on Upland Soil in West Kalimantan, Indonesia

Abstract

Upland soils in West Kalimantan that are used for agricultural activities reach about 483,077 ha. However, this land potency has not yet optimally exploited due to poor soil fertility. To increase its productivity, there is a need to invent technology packages that are not only effective but also efficient. This research is designed to study the growth of local selected upland rice and the changes in certain soil properties after low-input fertilization applications. This research was conducted in a green house, Faculty of Agriculture, Tanjungpura University. The laboratory works finished in February 2016. The study was arranged in a Completely Randomized Design. There were 6 treatments and 4 replications. The treatment levels were P0 (no treatment), P1 (7 Mg cow manure ha-1 + 300 kg compound NPK ), P2 (15 Mg cow manure ha-1 + 300 kg compound NPK), P3 (7 Mg rice straw compost ha-1 + 300 compound kg NPK), P4 (15 Mg rice straw compost ha-1 + 300 kg compound NPK), and P5 (600 kg ha-1 compound NPK). The parameters measured included plant height and dry weight, NPK uptake, soil pH, soil organic C content, and N, P, K contents after soil treatment. The results showed that the local selected upland rice responded well to low-input fertilization treatments, as the response was similar to that of 600 kg NPK ha-1. However, treatment P4 left higher base cation residues among all the treatments. Furthermore, the treatments P2 and P4 were suggested to be further research topics on upland soil of West Kalimantan as these treatments resulted better plant growth, while treatment P4 had a promising effect on soil base cation residues specifically Ca, Mg, and Na.

Keywords

• cow-manure
• rice-straw compost
• upland-rice
• west kalimantan