THE EFFECT OF KASCING AND NPK MUTIARA FERTILIZERS DOSES ON THE GROWTH, YIELD, AND QUALITY OF LEEK PLANTS (Allium porrum. L)

Abstract

Leeks are a horticultural commodity used as a flavoring agent in cooking due to their fragrant aroma. Leek production in Indonesia has fluctuated in recent years. This study aims to determine the effect of combining casing fertilizer and pearl NPK fertilizer doses on the growth, yield, and quality of leeks. This study used a factorial randomized block design (RBD) with two control factors. The first factor was the dosage of castings fertilizer, consisting of three levels: K₁ = 10 tons.ha-1, K₂ = 15 tons.ha-1, and K₃ = 20 tons.ha-1. The second factor was M₁ = 200 kg.ha-1, M₂ = 300 kg.ha-1, and K₃ = 400 kg.ha-1. The results showed a significant interaction between the dosage of castings and NPK on the growth and yield of leeks. Increasing the vermicompost fertilizer dose reduced dependence on NPK chemical fertilizer. Growth and yield were optimal with a combination of 20 tons.ha-1 of vermicompost fertilizer and 200 kg.ha-1 of NPK fertilizer, but there was no significant difference between combinations of 15 tons.ha-1 and 20 tons.ha-1 of vermicompost fertilizer with NPK doses of 300–400 kg.ha-1. Separately, the use of 15 tons.ha-1 of vermicompost fertilizer did not differ significantly from 20 tons.ha-1 of vermicompost fertilizer in terms of growth and yield. Vitamin C and chlorophyll content were not affected by the interaction between vermicompost fertilizer and NPK fertilizer, but differed significantly from the control (without vermicompost and without NPK). For chlorophyll content, all treatment combinations differed from the control.