RESPON AGRONOMIS MENTIMUN TERHADAP KONSENTRASI PUPUK ORGANIK CAIR LIMBAH BUAH TROPIS

Abstract

The utilization of tropical fruit waste ,  which contains macro- and micronutrients, as raw material for liquid organic fertilizer (LOF) is one alternative to increase crop productivity; however, the concentration level that produces the best agronomic response in plants is still unknown.This study aimed to evaluate the agronomic response of cucumber plants to different concentrations of liquid organic fertilizer derived from tropical fruit waste and to determine the most effective concentration for improving  yield. The experiment was conducted using a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with nine concentrations of LOF, namely 0, 50, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300, 350, and 400 ml L⁻¹, each replicated three times.   Initial soil analysis indicated low organic carbon content, high cation exchange capacity (CEC), and moderate to very high levels of N, P, and K nutrients. Statistical analysis showed that the application of liquid organic fertilizer significantly affected all observed yield parameters of cucumber. The highest values were obtained at the LOF concentration of 400 ml L⁻¹, producing fruits per plant, fruit diameter, fruit length, and fruit weight, although these results were not significantly different from the 350 ml L⁻¹ treatment. The results suggest that liquid organic fertilizer derived from tropical fruit waste has the potential to improve the agronomic performance and yield of cucumber plants.