Humic Acid and Biofertilizer Applications Enhanced Pod and Cocoa Bean Production during the Dry Season at Kaliwining Plantation, Jember, East Java, Indonesia

Authors

  • Fadil Rohman Graduate School, IPB University
  • Ade Wachjar Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, IPB University
  • Edi Santosa Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, IPB University
  • Soetanto Abdoellah Indonesian Coffee and Cocoa Research Institute, Jember 68152, East Java, Indonesia.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.29244/jtcs.6.03.153-163

Keywords:

Theobroma cacao, cherelle wilt, climate change, cocoa bean, photosynthesis

Abstract

Cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) is an important crop in Indonesia, but many farmers still face problem in improving bean production. This research aimed to evaluate the effect of humic acid and biofertilizer applications on pod growth and yield of cocoa. The research was conducted at Kaliwining Plantation managed by Indonesian Coffee and Cocoa Research Institute at Jember District, East Java, Indonesia from June 2017 to February 2018. The experiment used mature tree of Sulawesi from one clone. Treatment used were humic acid at level of 0, 1000, 2000, 3000 and 4000 ppm in combination with biofertilizer at level of 0, 500, 1000, 1500 and 2000 ppm that were applied through soil and foliar respectively. Results of this experiment showed that there was an interaction between humic acid and biofertilizer on beans number per plant and photosynthesis rate. Plants treated with 1000 ppm humic acid produced the highest number of small cherelle. Biofertilizer applied at 1500 ppm increased cherelle number, healthy cherelle, number of young pods, number of harvested pods, bean weight per plant and bean yield. The combination of 1000 ppm humic acid and 1500 ppm biofertilizer increased bean production by 39.7%. The high bean production was in line with the high photosynthetic rate. Thus, humic acid and biofertilizer applications could be a way to increase cocoa bean production in this area.

References

[Ditjenbun] Direktorat Jenderal Perkebunan. (2017). “Tree Crop Estate Statistics of Indonesia. 2013-2015, Cocoa”. 58 pp. Direktorat Jenderal Perkebunan.
Dariah, A.I and Nurida, N.L. (2011). Soil conditioner formula enriched by humic substance to enhance productivity of ultisols Taman Bogo, Lampung. Tanah dan Iklim 33, 33-38.
Darmokoesoemo, H., Setyawati, H., and Faisal, A. (2014). Determination of optimum conditions for cadmium absorption by humic acid. Matematika dan Ilmu Pengetahuan Alam 17, 24-28.
Hermanto, D., Dharmayani, N.K.T., Kurnianingsih, R., and Kamali, S.R. (2012). Humic acid effect on corn plant for fertilization efficiency in dry land of Bayan, North Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara. Ilmu-ilmu Pertanian 16, 100-107.
Hidayatullah., Khan, A., Mouladad., Mirwise., Ahmed, N., Shah, S.A. (2018). Effect of humic acid on fruit yield attributes, yield and leaf nutrient accumulation of apple trees under calcareous soil. Science and Technology 11, 1-8.
[ICCRI] Indonesian Coffee and Cocoa Research Institute. (2006). “Comprehensive Instruction of Cocoa Cultivation.” 328 pp. AgroMedia Pustaka.
[ICCRI] Indonesian Coffee and Cocoa Research Institute. (2015). “Cocoa: History, Botany, Production Process, Processing and Marketing”. 728 pp. Gadjah Mada University Press.
Khan, M.Y., Haque, M.M., Molla, A.H., Rahman, M.M., and Alam, M.Z. (2016). Antioxidant compounds and minerals in tomatoes by Trichoderma- enriched biofertilizer and their relationship with the soil environments. Integrative Agriculture 15, 1-14.
Khattab, M.M., Shaban, A.E., Shrief, A.H., and Mohammed, A.S.D. (2012). Effect of humic acid and amino acids on pomegranate trees under deficit irrigation, i.e: growth, flowering and fruiting. Horticultural Science and Ornamental Plants 4, 253-259.
Massah, J. and Azadegan, B. (2016). Effect of chemical fertilizers on soil compaction and degradation. Agricultural Mechanization in Asia, Africa and Latin America 47, 44-50.
Pratama, S.W., Sukamto, S., Asyiah, I.N., and Ervina, Y.V. (2013). Inhibition of cacao pathogen fungus growth Phytophthora palmivora by Pseudomonas fluorescence and Bacillus subtilis. Pelita Perkebunan 29, 120-127.
Ramakrishnan, K., and Selvakumar, G. (2012). Effect of biofertilizers on enhancement of growth and yield on tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum Mill.). Research in Botany 2, 20-23.
Sahu, P.K., Gupta, A., Sharma, L., and Bakade, R. (2017). Mechanisms of Azospirillum in plant growth promotion. Agriculture and Veterinary Sciences 4, 338-343.
Santosa, E., Sugiyama, N., Hikosaka, S., Takano, T., and Kubota, N. (2005). Intercropping practices in cacao, rubber and timber plantations in West Java, Indonesia. Japanese Journal of Tropical Agriculture 49, 21-29.
Santosa, E., Sakti, G.P., Fattah, M.Z., Zaman, S., and Wachjar, A. (2018). Cocoa production stability in relation to changing rainfall and temperature in East Java, Indonesia. Journal of Tropical Crop Science 5, 6-17
Setyadi, I.M.D., Artha, I.N., and Wirya, G.N.A.S. (2017). Effectivity of compost application of Trichoderma sp. for chili plants (Capsicum annum L.) growth. Agroteknologi Tropika 6, 21-30.
Siagian, I.P.S., Siagian, B., and Ginting, J. (2014). Cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) bean growth by NPK and biofertilizer application. Online Agroteknologi 2, 447-459.
Sivasakthi, S., Usharani, G., and Saranraj, P. (2014). Biocontrol potentiality of plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPR) – Pseudomonas fluorescence and Bacillus subtilis: A review. African Journal of Agricultural Research 9, 1265-1277.
Suwardi and Wijaya, H. (2013). Increasing food crop production using active material of humic acid and zeolite as carrier. Ilmu Pertanian Indonesia 18, 79-84.
Tan K.H. (2009). “Environmental Soil Science”. CRC Press, 3rd edition. 600 pp. CRC Press.
Zhou, J., Jiang, X., Wei, D., Zhao, B., Ma, M., Chen, S., Cao, F., Shen, D., Guan, D., and Li, J. (2017). Consistent effect of nitrogen fertilization on soil bacterial communities in black soils for two crop seasons in China. Scientifics Report 7, 1-10.

Downloads

Published

2019-10-24

How to Cite

Rohman, F., Wachjar, A., Santosa, E., & Abdoellah, S. (2019). Humic Acid and Biofertilizer Applications Enhanced Pod and Cocoa Bean Production during the Dry Season at Kaliwining Plantation, Jember, East Java, Indonesia. Journal of Tropical Crop Science, 6(03), 153–163. https://doi.org/10.29244/jtcs.6.03.153-163