GROWTH OF TOMATO (Lycopersicum esculentum Mill.) ON COMPOST FERTILIZER FROM COFFEE CASCARA AND PRUNING PERIOD

Abstract

Tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum Mill.) is a plant that has an important role in global food consumption. The increase in tomato consumption, both in fresh and processed form, is correlated with population growth and public awareness of the importance of balanced nutrition. Despite the high popularity of tomatoes as a consumption crop, their productivity in Indonesia is still relatively low. Tomato production in Indonesia will increase in 2021 and 2022. In 2021, production will reach 1.11 million tonnes, while in 2022 it will increase to 1.13 million tonnes. Coffee cascara as the main raw material for compost is an organic source that is rich in nutrients. The advantage of coffee husk compost fertilizer also lies in its ability to reduce dependence on chemical fertilizers, thereby minimizing negative impacts on the environment. Pruning water shoots is an effective step in increasing tomato production. This research aims to obtain the correct dose of coffee cascara compost fertilizer, to obtain the water shoot pruning period and to determine the interaction between coffee cascara compost fertilizer treatment and the water shoot pruning period on tomato growth and development. This research was conducted from April to June 2024 in Suro Baru Village, District, Ujan Mas, Kepahiang Regency, Bengkulu Province. The research was conducted using the factorial Complete Randomized Block Design (RAKL) method. The first factor is the treatment dose of coffee husk compost with 4 levels of treatment, namely: K0: Coffee cascara compost dose 0 g/polybag (control), K1: Coffee cascara compost dose 40 g/polybag, K2: Coffee cascara compost dose 80 g/polybag and K3 : Coffee cascara compost dosage 120 g/polybag. The second factor is the treatment period of water shoot pruning with 3 treatment levels, namely: P0: No pruning (control), P1: Water shoot pruning at 20 HST and P2: Water shoot pruning at 40 DAP. The conclusion of this research is the dose of coffee cascara compost has an effect on the variables of plant height, number of leaves, stem diameter, number of branches, flowering age and number of flowers, the pruning period has an effect on the variables of number of branches and flowering age and occur  interaction of  dose coffee cascara compost and the pruning period is K3P2.