Application of Nitrogen Fertilizer and Biofertilizer to Enhance the Growth and Yield of Shallots

Abstract

Shallots are an essential vegetable commodity in Indonesia, valued for their numerous benefits. With the increasing population, the demand for shallots continues to rise each year, necessitating enhanced production through improved cultivation techniques, particularly in fertilization. The research aimed to identify the optimal doses of nitrogen fertilizer and biofertilizer to promote the growth and yield of shallots. The research employed a Complete Randomized Block Design (CRBD) with two treatment factors. The first factor consisted of nitrogen fertilizer at four levels: N1 (50 kg/ha), N2 (100 kg/ha), N3 (150 kg/ha), and N4 (200 kg/ha). The second factor involved biofertilizer at three levels: B1 (0 ml/l), B2 (5 ml/l), and B3 (10 ml/l). The parameters observed included plant height, number of leaves, number of tillers per plant, number of bulbs per plant, fresh weight of bulbs per plant, bulb diameter, leaf greenness level, and stomata density. The results indicated that there was no interaction between the nitrogen fertilizer doses and the concentrations of biofertilizer for any of the parameters measured. The optimal dose of nitrogen fertilizer was found to be 50 kg/ha, which significantly increased bulb diameter, fresh bulb weight, and the number of bulbs per plant. On the other hand, the application of biofertilizer showed no significant effect on any of the growth and yield parameters, with concentrations of up to 10 ml/l not yielding notable results.