Pandansari village, Ngantang District was severely affected by Mt. Kelud eruption in 2014. Almost all soil surfaces were covered by the eruption product, leading to serious problems for cultivation. Pyroclastic materials potentially have high content of nutrients, but they are not readily available to plants. As an attempt to improve chemical properties of the pyroclastic materials, we applied locally available organic matters, from four different sources, i.e. leaves of sweet potatoes, Tithonia diversifolia, maize, and cow manure. The pyroclastic materials were sieved at 2 mm, placed inside pots (50 x 50 x 50 cm 3), until it reached 30 cm thick. The fresh leaves were chopped into 2 mm size and mixed with the pyroclastic materials at the dosage of 15 Mg/ha. They were incubated and kept at field condition. Selected chemical properties (pH, CEC, sum of basic cations, and the total contents of N, organic C, and available P) were measured before and after 90 days incubation. The results showed that after 90 days, organic matter application significantly increased pH, cation exchange capacity, organic C, and total exchangeable basic cations content. The increases of P-available and total N contents were only detected on cow manure treated materials.

Unhealthy agricultural activities possibly caused damage due to pollution from dangerous substances that accumulate as residues. Pesticides can be one of the factors causing soil pollution; one of the reasons is the presence of lead (Pb). This study aimed to elucidate the potential use of sunflower (Hellianthus annus Linn) for phytoremediation Pb contaminated soil. Phytoremediation optimization was upported by the addition of ameliorants in the form of BSF (black soldier fly) compost and biochar. The research was carried out in two stages; the first stage was the utilization of sunflower for phytoremediation of Pb contaminated soil. The second stage was the use of post-phytoremediation soil for planting mustard plants. The results showed that phytoremediation efficiency ranged from 45.74-67.17%, indicating that the sunflower plant was quite effective as Pb accumulator plant. The application of biochar and BSF compost was able to show a higher value than the control treatment to maximize the phytoremediation process. Mustard plants grown on soil that has been remediated showed better growth and biomass yields than that grown on soil that had not been subjected to phytoremediation.

Rice production in Pamekasan Regency from 2011 to 2019 decreased by 38.71% due to farmers applying fertilizers that did not match plant needs, such as insufficient application of manure, organic fertilizers and other inorganic fertilizers. In addition, the basic fertilization obtained by farmers comes from informal information, so the application of fertilizers on the land is not efficient. Efforts have been made to overcome these problems by evaluating soil fertility from the aspect of nutrient retention as a basis for determining fertilizer requirements. The purpose of this study was to evaluate soil fertility, especially from the aspect of nutrient retention in paddy fields in Pamekasan Regency. This research used a purposive random sampling method based on SPL (Land Map Unit). Parameters observed were cation exchange capacity, organic C, base saturation, pH, electrical conductivity, texture, porosity, bulk density and saturated hydraulic conductivity. The results showed that the high level of soil fertility in Pamekasan Regency was found in cation exchange capacity in Tlanakan District (43.92 cmol kg-1), base saturation in Galis District (99.38%), pH in Tlanakan District (7.00), electrical conductivity in Pakong and Pasean districts (0.39 mS) and the dominant texture is the clay fraction. Low fertility levels are found in soil organic C in Waru and Kadur Districts (0.08%), bulk density in Pasean District (1.59 g cm-3), porosity in Proppo District (34.89%), and saturated hydraulic conductivity in Pasean District (46.34 cm hour-1).

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