THE GROWTH PERFORMANCE OF MICROPROPAGATED TALAS BANANA (Musa paradisiaca var. sapientum L) SEEDLINGS CULTIVATED ON PEATLANDS

Abstract

Talas banana (Musa paradisiaca var. sapientum L.) has a high economic value. However, because of slowly breeding, a quick way of propagation: i.e. in vitro is required. Peatlands in South Kalimantan are quite large and has potential to be used for planting area of Talas banana. The acclimatization of seedlings planted on the peats requires more fertilizers, considering the low nutrient content of the peats. This study aimed to determine the amounts of chicken manure and nitrogen-phosphor-potassium (NPK) fertilizer on the growth of Talas banana acclimatized in peatlands. This study applied a randomized block design (RBD) with two factors, namely: (1) the amount of chicken manure (K): k1 = 5 t ha-1; k2 = 10 t ha-1; k3 = 15 t ha-1; k4 = 20 t ha-1, and (2) the amount of NPK fertilizers (P): p1 = 200 kg ha-1; p2 = 250 kg ha-1; p3 = 300 kg ha-1. All treatments had 3 replicates; therefore, there were 36 unit of experiment. The results of the experiment showed that all variables observed in this study were affected by the amounts of chicken manure and NPK fertilizer. However, no interaction of the amounts of chicken manure and NPK fertilizer were observed for all variables. The amount of chicken manure 5 t ha-1 resulted in the highest increment of plant height observed at 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th, 10th and 12thweek after planting, increment of stem diameter, addition of leaf number, width and length of leaves. The results of experiment also revealed that the best increment of plant height observed at 8th week after planting and stem diameter observed at 4th week after planting was obtained by 250 kg ha-1 of NPK fertilizer application.