ISSN: 2339-076X (p); 2502-2458 (e), Volume 6, Number 4 (July 2019):1829-1835 DOI:10.15243/jdmlm.2019.064.1829
www.jdmlm.ub.ac.id 1829 Research Article
The effect of biogas slurry and inorganic fertilizer on soil organic material and yield of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.)
Wiwin Sumiya Dwi Yamika
*, Ninuk Herlina, Sherly Amriyanti
Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, Brawijaya Universitas, Jl. Veteran no. 1, Malang 65145, East Java, Indonesia
*corresponding author: wiwin.fp@ub.ac.id; wiwinyamika@gmail.com Received 5 March 2019, Accepted 6 May 2019
Abstract: Combining the application of organic manure with inorganic fertilizer treatment can improve the productivity of the cucumber. Biogas slurry is synthesized from organic manure that can improve soil fertility and increase the yield of cucumber. This research aimed to learn the effect of biogas slurry and inorganic fertilizer on soil fertility and its impact on the yield of cucumber and to learn the role of biogas slurry in decreasing amount of inorganic fertilizer used on the crop. This research was conducted in the former paddy field located in Wriginsongo village, District of Tumpang, Malang Regency. A randomized block design factorial was used with biogas slurry treatment as the main plot which consists of three levels: 10 t/ha, 20 t/ha, and 30 t/ha while the subplot was the dosages of inorganic fertilizer which consists of 100%, 75% and 50% dosage of recommendation. This research revealed that biogas slurry could increase the organic matter on the soil. Application of biogas slurry and inorganic fertilizer increase number of fruits produced, the weight of the fruit, the total weight of fruit produced per plant and hectare.
Biogas slurry improved organic matter from 0.29% to 2.06%, N total from 0.06% to 0.15%, P2O5 from 93.48 ppm to 224.31 ppm, K2O from 2.01me/100 g to 100 me 100/g, and C/N ratio from 3 to 9.
Keywords: biogas slurry, cucumber, dosage, inorganic fertilizer, organic matter
To cite this article: Yamika, W.S.D., Herlina, N. and Amriyanti, S. 2019. The effect of biogas and inorganic fertilizer on soil fertility and yield of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.). J. Degrade. Min. Land Manage. 6(4): 1829- 1835, DOI:10.15243/jdmlm.2019.064.1829.
Introduction
Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) belongs to cucurbitae family and has been cultivated in many places in Indonesia, but the productivity is still considered low. Directorate General of Horticulture (2014) states that Indonesia produced cucumber 547.141 t/ha in 2010, 521.535 t/ha in 2011, 511.485 t/ha in 2012, 491.636 t/ha in 2013, and 447.976 t/ha in 2014. The low productivity is due to the environmental factor such as the availability of nutrients in the soil. The decline of cucumber production can be caused by environmental conditions, such as decreasing of soil fertility caused by the use of inorganic fertilizers continuously, which affects the physical, chemical and biological properties of the soil. The tendency of farmers to use inorganic fertilizer because it is more practical. Though the
use of inorganic fertilizers has several disadvantages, namely the price is relatively expensive and excessive use of doses can cause environmental pollution especially if its continued use for a long time can decline soil fertility (Notohadiprawiro, 2006). An alternative effort to improve the fertility of agricultural land is providing organic matter. The application of organic fertilizer is one of the techniques for applying sustainable agriculture farming. The organic material used is livestock waste in the form of biogas waste from cow manure. Biogas waste is an effective organic fertilizer from livestock waste for agricultural production that is sustainable, environmentally friendly and pollution free (Rahman et al., 2010). Biogas waste can increase agricultural production due to nutrient content, enzymes and growth hormones contained therein (Karki, 2001). Biogas slurry
Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management 1830 from cow manure can be a source of organic
matter to be added to soil because it contains 1.6% N, 1.55% P2O5 and 1.0% K20 (FAO, 1996).
Biogas waste is good to neutralize soil pH, and boost natural humus up to 10 – 12%, so the soil will be able to carry more nutrient and water (Arief, 2014). Biogas slurry improves the carbon/nitrogen (C/N) ratio in the slurry that provides easily nutrient availability to plants and soil biota (Kumar et al., 2015). Bio slurry can also contain easily-available plant nutrients and it contains higher amounts of nutrient and micronutrients than composted manure (Ishikawa et al., 2006). The aimed of research were to study of the interaction between biogas slurry from cow manure and inorganic fertilizer to the cucumber productivity and to examine the impact of using biogas slurry as organic matter to decrease the use of inorganic fertilizer.
Materials and Methods
The research was conducted from March to May 2017 on the field with a condition 0.29% organic matter (low), 0.06% N total (low), 93.48 mg P2O5/kg (high), and 2.01 me K2O/100 g (high).
The field is located in Wringinsongo village, Tumpang, Malang regency. The first step of the research was land preparation. The land was tilled and divided into individual blocks with 5.2 m x 2.8 m of size (14.56 m2). Randomized block design factorial was used in this research with the first factor was biogas slurry with three levels which were (B1): 10 t/ha (14.56 kg/block), (B2):
20 10 t/ha (29.12 kg/block), (B3): 30 t/ha (43.68 kg/block). The second factor was inorganic fertilizer treatment with three levels which were (P1): 100% of recommended dosage (urea: 310 g/block, SP36: 290 g/block, and KCl: 290 g/block), (P2): 75% of recommended dosage (urea: 230 g/block, SP36: 210 g/block, KCl: 210 g/block), and (P3): 50% of recommended dosage (urea: 150 g/block, SP36: 140 g/block, KCl: 140 g/block). There were nine treatment combinations with three replications, so it made 27 treatment blocks. Each block was filled with 52 plants, and there were 1,404 plants in total. The treatment was done by spraying the solution of biogas slurry to the soil surface. Only SP36 was added before the mulching. The other inorganic fertilizer, urea, and KCL were added when the crops reached seven days and 21 days. At day 7, the fertilizer used was half of the recommended dosage, and the rest of the dosages were added at day 21. The seedling was conducted one week before the planting using polybags containing compost and soil with 1:1 ratio. Planting was conducted in the morning (6 am-9 am), one seed per hole. The
crops maintenance included irrigation, re- planting, weeding, and pest and pathogen control.
There were two parameters observed, the growth parameters, yield component parameters and soil analyses (preliminary and final soil analysis). The growth parameters included the number of leaves, leaf area index, total dry weight per plant, as well as the number of male and female flowers. The yield parameter included the number of fruits produced, the percentage of fruit set, and the weight of fruits. The fruits were ready to be harvested at approximately 37 – 52 days after planting. Harvesting was in three days interval, and only well-ripened cucumber was picked. F- test at 5% was used to analyze the data followed by LSD test (α= 5%).
Results and Discussion The growth of cucumber
The result of this research revealed that biogas slurry significantly influenced the number of leaves at 28 days after planting due to the extra nutrients provided by biogas slurry (Table 1). The application of 30 t biogas slurry/ha increased the number of leaves on the plant up to 17.33%
compared to the one treated with only 10 t biogas slurry/ha. The crops treated with 100% dosage of inorganic fertilizer had more leaves than those treated with 75% and 50% dosages. The average number of leaves was 25.22 on 100% dosage, 22.94 on 75% dosage, and 23.06 on 50% of the dosage. Biogas slurry considerably affected leaf area index at 28 and 48 days after planting (Table 2). Nutrients contained in biogas slurry were accessible to the plant, and therefore, it increased the number as well as the length of the leaves.
Based on the study of Garg et al. (2005), the application of bio slurry increased the leaf area index of rice. Nutrient uptake is an essential factor that influences plant growth. The dry weight of the plant is a characteristic parameter used to investigate the amount of organic matter on the plant as the result of photosynthesis. Biogas slurry positively affected the dry weight of the plant at 28, 42 and 56 days after planting (Figure 3). The increase in total dry weights due to increase in the level of biogas slurry might be due to the increase in the number of leaves per plant (28 DAP) and leaf area index (28, 42 DAP). The available of macronutrients such as N, P, K of biogas slurry or organic material concurrently influence the growth of a plant. Therefore, the nutrients incorporated in it will be more available and accessible to the plant. Haque (2013) reported that bio-slurry contains N, P and K macronutrients required by plants in large quantities. Bio-slurry
Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management 1831 also contains micronutrients such as Zn, Fe, Mg
and Cu which are important in supporting the growth of plants. Similarly, the increased total dry weighs of cucumber on the application of biogas slurry in the combination of inorganic fertilizer was in line with the research by Yu et al. (2010).
Inorganic fertilizer had a considerable effect on the dry weight of the plant. Treatment with 100%
and 75% dosage of fertilizer had a more significant number of total dry weight compared with 50% dosage. It explained that the amount of nutrients in the soil is vital to the plant in order to generate organic matter as a product of photosynthesis. as well as the dry weight (Mashud et al., 2013). Crop growth is depending on root development due to the implementation of organic fertilizer. According to Khan et al. (2015), biogas slurry supplies essential nutrients and accelerates root growth. In addition, it has traces of some important micronutrients, such as zinc, boron, calcium, iron, sulphur, copper, magnesium etc., which are necessary for the growth and development of crops. Based on the nutrient content of biogas slurry (Table 1), nutrients will be transported to the part of the plant organ and will enhance the biomass of plant growth, such as dry weight per plant.
Table 1. The nutrient content of biogas slurry used in this study.
Parameters Biogas slurry Soil organic matter (%) 2.89% (high)
N total (%) 0.24% (low)
P2O5 0.64% (low)
K2O 0.24% ((low)
C/N 2.89% (high)
Figure 1. Effect of biogas slurry on number of leaves (a) and effect of inorganic fertilizer on number of leaves (b) at 28 days after planting.
Figure 2. Effect of biogas slurry on leaf area index at 28 and 42 days after planting.
a
b
Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management 1832 Figure 3. Effect of biogas slurry on total dry weights per plant at 28, 42 and 56 days after planting.
Figure 4. Effect of inorganic fertilizer on total dry weight per plant at 42 days after planting.
The yield of the cucumber
Biogas slurry alleviated the use of inorganic fertilizer. Although biogas slurry and inorganic fertilizer showed no interaction effect on the growth, there are interaction effects on yield.
Treatment with 75% inorganic fertilizer and 20 t biogas slurry/ha had the same total fruit weight with 100% dosage treatment plus 10 t biogas slurry/ha as well as on the 50% dosage of inorganic fertilizer with 30 t biogas slurry/ha.
Many previous studies have shown the potential of biogas slurry to improve soil fertility and crop yield. Lina et al. (2011) reported that application of biogas slurry to rice field resulted in slightly higher yield compared to chemical fertilizer. Yu et al. (2010) also reported that biogas slurry is a
cheap source of plant nutrients and offer benefits to soil fertility and fruit quality of tomato. The same level of 30 t biogas slurry/ha yielded the same total fruit weight either on 75% or 100%
dosage of inorganic fertilizer. Biogas slurry had a high organic matter by 2.89%. The nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium contained in it helped to improve the effectiveness of fertilizing. Based on previous research by Dwi (2005), 20 t biogas slurry/ha and NPK fertilizer is an appropriate combination to promote plant growth and improve the total weight of the fruits. In addition, the plants with 30 t biogas slurry/ha treatment showed the same number of fruit produced on the combination either with 100%, 75%, or 50%
dosage of inorganic fertilizer (Table 2). Biogas slurry improved the efficiency of fertilizing up to
Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management 1833 50%. In line with research by Kumar et al. (2015),
the combination of biogas slurry and synthetic fertilizer enhances the yield of cotton, wheat, maize and rice respectively.
Table 2. Interaction between biogas slurry and inorganic material on the number of fruit per plant, the weight of per each fruit, the weight of fruit per plant, and the weight of fruit per hectare.
Slurry
The Number of Fruit Per Plant (fruit) Inorganic Fertilizer
100% 75% 50%
10 t/ha 20 t/ha 30 t/ha
13.33 c 13.33 c 13.33 c
12.00 b 13.33 c 13.67 c
10.67 a 11.67 ab
13.33 c
LSD 5% 1.11
Slurry
The weight of each Fruit (g) Inorganic Fertilizer
100% 75% 50%
10 t/ha 20 t/ha 30 t/ha
398.00 ab 454.49 cd 512.90 e
356.46 a 407.88 b 496.36 de
394.61 ab 388.57 ab 426.77 bc
LSD 5% 45.47
Slurry
The weight of Fruit Per Plant (kg) Inorganic Fertilizer
100% 75% 50%
10 t/ha 20 t/ha 30 t/ha
5.26 b 6.06 c 6.83 d
4.27 a 5.43 b 6.78 d
4.20 a 4.52 a 5.69 bc
LSD 5% 0.45
Slurry
The weight of Fruit Per Hectare (T ha-1) Inorganic Fertilizer
100% 75% 50%
10 t/ha 20 t/ha 30 t/ha
150.53 b 173.24 c 195.20 d
122.21 a 155.28 b 193.89 d
120.09 a 129.38 a 162.75 bc
LSD 5% 13.00
Remarks: Mean values within the same column followed by the same letter are not significantly different (0.05 level) according to the LSD test.
The soil which treated with 30 t biogas slurry/ha represented the high amount of P205 in 100%, 75% and 50% dosage of inorganic fertilizer. It was 99.66 ppm in 100% dosage, 193.69 in 75%
dosage, and 205.40 ppm in 50% dosage (Table 5).
Phosphorus influences photosynthesis processes, the use of sugar, starch and energy transfer which will increase plant growth and yield (Rahayu, 2016). Biogas slurry and inorganic fertilizer treatment revealed significant interaction regarding the weight of each fruit, the total weight of fruit per plant and per ha. Application of biogas slurry at 30 t/ha level with 100% and 75% dosage of inorganic fertilizer had the same ability to increase the weight of the fruits. C/N ratio plays an essential role in making the nutrients available for the plants when developing the fruits. The weight of fruits depends on the kind of fertilizer
used (Onyia et al., 2012). The heaviness of fruits is linked to the productivity of the plant. The productivity of the cucumber can be known by measure the number of fruits produced at a certain size of land. 30 t/ha of biogas slurry gave the best results in cucumber productivity. There was no denotative difference between the combination with 100% and 75% dosage of inorganic fertilizer in the number of fruit produced per ha (Table 4).
Increasing the level of biogas slurry will increase the productivity of the crop. Report by Singh et al.
(1995) showed that combining inorganic fertilizer with biogas waste improved the yield of several crops such as paddy, mays, soybean, and okra.
Soil characteristics
Some of the nutrients in soil such as N, P2O5, K2O, as well as organic matter and C/N ratio
Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management 1834 increased after the treatment using biogas slurry
combined with inorganic fertilizer (Table 3).
Accordingly, soil organic material, N, P, K and C/N ratio in the soil at final soil analysis showed very high amount compared to pretreatment.
Biogas slurry contributed the soil with N (0.24%), P2O5 (0.64%), K2O (0.24%), and organic matter (2.89%). Biogas slurry treatment has the potential to provide a considerable amount of both macro and micronutrients besides appreciable quantities of organic matter (Kumar et al., 2015). Organic
matter recovers the soil and betters its productivity. Moreover, the application of organic fertilizer can improve soil fertility. Groot and Bogfanski (2013) biogas slurry was useful in improving the quality of agricultural soil, increased humus content and support the activity of microbial soil. Hartanto and Putri (2013) also reported that the use of biogas slurry improved the soil physical structure, increased the ability of soil holding water capacity and soil fertility.
Table 3. Pre-cultivation and harvest-time soil analysis.
Treatment
Parameter Soil Organic
Matter (%) N total
(%) P2O5
(ppm) K2O
(me/100 g) C/N
Pretreatment 0.29 0.06 93.48 2.01 3
Slurry 10 t/ha and
Inorganic fertilizer 100% 1.74 0.11 127.36 1.92 9
Slurry 10 t/ha and
Inorganic fertilizer 75% 1.11 0.11 216.57 3.27 6
Slurry 10 t/ha and
Inorganic fertilizer 50% 0.82 0.09 207.30 4.29 5
Slurry 20 t/ha and
Inorganic fertilizer 100% 2.06 0.14 116.21 2.10 8
Slurry 20 t/ha and
Inorganic fertilizer 75% 1.74 0.15 200.69 2.91 7
Slurry 20 t/ha and
Inorganic fertilizer 50% 1.27 0.10 224.31 3.89 7
Slurry 30 t/ha and
Inorganic fertilizer 100% 1.31 0.12 99.66 1.84 6
Slurry 30 t/ha and
Inorganic fertilizer 75% 1.59 0.14 193.69 3.43 7
Slurry 30 t/ha and
Inorganic fertilizer 50% 1.27 0.11 208.40 5.13 6
Conclusion
Combining biogas slurry and inorganic fertilizer improved yield of the cucumber. Increasing the amount of biogas slurry lowered the use of inorganic fertilizer significantly and enhanced fertilizer efficiency. Application of 30 t biogas slurry/ha revealed the same effect on the combination either with 100% dosage or 75%
dosage of inorganic fertilizer. Biogas slurry increased the number of several nutrients such as N total (from 0.06 to 0.15), P2O5 (from 93.48 ppm to 224.31 ppm), K2O (from 2.01 me/100 g to 5.13 me/100 g), C/N ratio (from 3 to 9) as well as organic matter (from 0.29 to 2.06%). Moreover, biogas slurry also increased plant growth parameters such as number of leaves, leaf area and total dry weight per plant.
Acknowledgement
This study was accomplished with financial support from the Faculty of Agriculture, Brawijaya University.
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