The effect of Trichoderma-enriched biofertilizer application on total nitrogen, organic carbon, and peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) yield in Inceptisols

Abstract

The addition of N, P, and K nutrients through the application of fertilizer that is not in accordance with recommendation dosage still happening nowadays. One of the efforts to minimize this problem is the use of biofertilizer. This research aimed to study the effect of Trichoderma-enriched biofertilizer (T-EB) application on total nitrogen, organic carbon, and peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) yield in Inceptisols. The research was conducted at The Laboratory of Soil Chemistry and Plant Nutrition, Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Padjadjaran, Jatinangor from May to October 2022. The design used was randomized block design (RBD) with nine treatments and three replications: (A)Control, (B)NPK Standard, (C) ½(T-EB)+1NPK, (D) ¾ (T-EB) + 1NPK, (E) 1(T-EB) + 1NPK, (F)1½(T-EB) + 1NPK, (G)1(T-EB) + ¾NPK, (H)1(T-EB) + ½NPK, (I)1(T-EB) + ¼ NPK. The results showed that the use of Trichoderma-enriched biofertilizer had a significant effect on soil total nitrogen, soil organic carbon, and peanut yield components compared to the control (without fertilizer) and NPK standard. A single dose of (T-EB) (2 kg/ha) effectively increased peanut yield when mixed with the NPK dose of standard fertilizer at ¾ (37.5 kg/ha). The use of (T-EB) at that dose can also reduce NPK usage in Inceptisols.