Pertumbuhan dan Hasil Blewah (Cucumis melo var Cantalupensis L.) pada Berbagai Dosis Pupuk Kandang Sapi dan Kalium di Ultisol

Abstract

The cultivation of cantaloupe in Ultisol faces challenges due to low soil fertility. Therefore, the utilization of organic matter, including cow dung along with synthetic potassium fertilizer, is expected to improve the growth and yield of cantaloupe in Ultisol. The study aims to determine the best combination of potassium fertilizer and cow dung doses on the growth and yield of cantaloupe in Ultisol, to establish the optimum dose of cow dung for the growth and yield of cantaloupe in Ultisol, and to determine the optimum dose of potassium fertilizer for the growth and yield of cantaloupe in Ultisol.. This experiment is a two-factor trial arranged factorially using a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with 3 replications. The first factor is cow manure (S) at 3 levels: 0 tons/ha, 10 tons/ha, and 20 tons/ha. The second factor is potassium fertilizer in the form of KCl (K) at 4 levels: 0 kg KCl/ha, 150 kg KCl/ha, 300 kg KCl/ha, and 450 kg KCl/ha. Each treatment combination was replicated 3 times. Data were statistically analyzed using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) at a 5% significance level. If significant, further analysis was conducted with Orthogonal Polynomial testing. The results indicated an interaction between the KCl fertilizer dose and the cow dung dose on plant height. However, the application of cow dung and KCl fertilizer at various doses did not have a significant effect on other growth and yield components of cantaloupe.