Growth and Yield of Onion as Affected by Mulch Types and Vermicompost Dose

The productivity of shallots could be increased through environmental factors manipulation. Mulching may inhibit the growth of the weed and preserve soil moisture, causing to the improvement of plant growth. Besides, organic fertilizers such as vermicompost could be used to increase the productivity of shallots. This study intended to determine the effect of the types of mulch and the dose of vermicompost on the shallots' growth and yield. The research was carried out from October to December 2017 at the Experimental Station, Department of Crop Production, Faculty of Agriculture, The University of Bengkulu, at an altitude of ± 19 meters above sea level. The experimental design was a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with two factors. The first factor was the types of mulch, which consisted of no mulch as a control, oil palm leaf mulch, and black silver plastic mulch. The second factor was the vermicompost dose consisted of 0 ton/ha as a control, 10 and 20 ton/ha. The results showed that oil palm leaf mulch resulted in higher plant height and leaves numbers than black silver plastic mulch. The plants fertilized with vermicompost at a dose of 20 ton/ha had higher plants and more leaves than the control. It was also confirmed insignificant effect of either mulch types or compost dose on the shallot bulbs number or weight. The combination of oil palm leaf mulch and vermicompost at a dose of 20 ton/ha resulted in higher leaves number than other treatments.