The Response of Eggplant (Solanum Melongena L.) Growth Planted on Raised-Bog Peatland towards the Provision of Chicken Dung and Swallow Guano

Abstract

—Eggplant (Solanum Melongena L.) is one of the agricultural commodities needed and a kind of vegetables favored because it is not only good in the taste, it also contains potassium and vitamin A which can be beneficial for the body. Eggplant production in Indonesia is low, but the need is high. So it is necessary to increase production, one of them is conducting agricultural extensification. Agricultural extensification can be carried out on land that has not been used properly, such as raised-bog peatland. On the other hand, raised-bog peatland is marginal land that is poor in nutrients and acidic in nature, so that the condition of the peatland is not supportive for plant growth. Therefore, it is necessary to add organic materials such as chicken dung and swallow guano to support the growth and yield of eggplant on raised-bog peatland. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of chicken dung and swallow guano and their interaction on the yield of eggplant (Solanum Melongena L.) in the raised-bog peatland. This research used a group-randomized design (GRD) with 2 factors: chicken dung and swallow guano as fertilizer with 3 equal levels (a1/w1 = 5 tons/ha; a2/w2 = 10 tons/ha; a3/w3 = 15 tons/ha). The parameter observed and measured were the yield of eggplant. The results showed that the single use of swallow guano as fertilizer had a significant effect on fruit diameter and length, the quantity of fruit for each plant, the average weight of fresh fruit, fruit weight for each plant, and fruit weight for each hectare. On the other hand, the use of chicken dung as fertilizer had a significant effect on the number of fruit per plant, fruit weight per plant, and fruit weight per hectare. The results showed that the best eggplant yield component was obtained from the addition of swallow guano fertilizer at a dose of 15 t ha-1, namely resulted in a fruit weight per plant of 541,14 g tan-1 and a total fruit weight per ha of 12,88 t ha-1. Whereas in chicken dung fertilizer treatment, the most optimum dose is 10 t ha1 which can produce eggplant fruit weight per plant of 531,56 g tan-1 and 12,66 t ha-1 in total eggplant fruit weight per ha.