Rice straw mulch and organic fertilizer effect on growth and production of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.)

Abstract

Lettuce is one of the most popular horticultural crops. It is necessary to make an effort to increase lettuce production to meet market demand. One of the efforts is engineering cultivation systems through rice straw mulch and organic fertilizers application. The aims of studied to determine the effect of rice straw mulch and organic fertilizer on growth and production of lettuce. The research was conducted at Nudira Fresh Green House, PT. Nudira Sumber Daya Indonesia, Warnasari Village, Pangalengan Subdistrict, Bandung District, West Java. This study used factorial randomized block design with 3 replications. There were 2 factors with 8 treatment combinations. Factor I was mulch dose: control, 4 t ha−1 rice straw mulch, 6 t ha−1 rice straw mulch, 8 t ha−1 rice straw mulch. Factor II was organic fertilizer types: 20 t ha−1 cow manure, and 20 t ha−1 compost. The results showed that the rice straw mulch dose and organic fertilizer type did not significantly effect on plant height, leaves number, production per plant sample, and production per plant plot. Application of 8 t ha−1 rice straw mulch was able to increase plant height, production per plant sample, and production per plant plot. The cow manure application was able to increase plant height, leaves number, production per plant plot, and production per plant sample compared to using compost.