Journal of

Degraded and Mining

Lands Management
http://www.jdmlm.ub.ac.id
Accredited by Ministry of Research, Technology, and Higher Education
of the Republic of Indonesia, No. 60/E/KPT/2016, 13 November 2016

p-ISSN: 2339-076X
076X
Vol 4 No 4 (July 2017)
e-ISSN: 2502-2458
2458

International Research Centre for the Management of

Degraded and Mining Lands
http://www.ircmedmind.ub.ac.id
About the Journal
Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management (JDMLM): ISSN:2339-076X (p); 2502-2458 (e) is
an international journal providing rapid publication of peer-reviewed articles concerned with aspects directed
towards the management of degraded and mining lands covering topography of a landscape, soil and water
quality, biogeochemistry, ecosystem structure and function, and environmental, economic, social and health
impacts of degraded and mining lands. Papers dealing with result of original research, and critical reviews
on the above aspects are welcome, with no page charge.
Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management is managed by the International Research Centre for
the Management of Degraded and Mining Lands (IRC-MEDMIND), a research collaboration between
University of Brawijaya-Indonesia, University of Mataram-Indonesia, Massey University-New Zealand and
Chinese Academy of Sciences-China in attempting to create opportunities in the management of degraded
and mining lands. Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management is published in a single volume every
year. Each volume consists of four issues, normally published in October, January, April and July.
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Editorial Team
Editor-in-Chief
Eko Handayanto, International Research Centre for the Management of Degraded and Mining Lands,
University of Brawijaya, Indonesia
Associate Editor-in-Chief
Christopher W Anderson, Institute of Natural Resources, Massey University, Palmerston North, New
Zealand
Novi Arfarita, International Research Centre for the Management of Degraded and Mining Lands,
University of Brawijaya, and Malang Islamic University, Indonesia
Wani Hadi Utomo, Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Brawijaya,
Indonesia
International Editorial Board
Sri Rahayu Utami, Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Brawijaya,
Indonesia
Hamdan Jol, Department of Land Management, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia,
Malaysia
Constantinos Ehaliotis, Department of Natural Resources and Agricultural Engineering, Agricultural
University of Athens, Greece
B M Kumar, College of Forestry, Kerala Agricultural University, India
Anizan Isahak, Faculty of Science and Technology, School of Environmental and Natural Resource
Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Malaysia
John Bako Baon, Indonesian Coffee and Cocoa Research Institute, Jember, Indonesia
Juanxu Wang, State Key Laboratory of Environmental Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences,
Guiyang, China
Suhartini S, Department of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Brawijaya,
Indonesia
Tsuyoshi Imai, Division of Environmental Science and Engineering, Graduate School of Science and
Engineering, Yamaguchi University, Yamaguchi, Japan
Index

@IRC-MEDMIND 2017: All rights reserved

JOURNAL OF DEGRADED AND MINING LANDS MANAGEMENT
ISSN: 2339-076X (p); 2502-2458 (e), Volume 4, Number 4 (July 2017)

Contents

Water and sediment yields from two catchments with different land cover areas 853-861
Tyas Mutiara Basuki
Growth and survival rate of endemic trees of Ethiopia: Olea africana and Hagenia 863-871
abysinicca in the degraded lake of Haramaya Watershed, Ethiopia
Eba Muluneh Sorecha
The effect of ameliorants on improvement of soil fertility in post gold mining land 873-880
at West Kalimantan
Sulakhudin, Denah Suswati, Muhammad Hatta
Residual effect of potassium fertilizer and biochar on growth and yield of maize in 881-889
the second season
Widowati, Astutik, Astri Sumiati, Wahyu Fikrinda
Dry spell length analysis for crop production using Markov-Chain model in Eastern 891-897
Hararghe, Ethiopia
Eba Muluneh Sorecha, Birhanu Bayissa
The effectiveness of Mendong plant (Fimbrystilis globulosa) as a phytoremediator 899-905
of soil contaminated with chromium of industrial waste
Pungky Ferina, Retno Rosariastuti, Supriyadi
Land suitability evaluation of abandoned tin-mining areas for agricultural 907-918
development in Bangka Island, Indonesia
Asmarhansyah, Rodrigo B Badayos, Pearl B Sanchez, Pompe C Sta Cruz,
Leonardo M Florece
Yield response of ten varieties of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) cultivated on 919-926
dryland in rainy season
Akbar Saitama, Agung Nugroho, Eko Widaryanto
Plant species from coal mine overburden dumping site in Satui, South Kalimantan, 927-936
Indonesia
Vivi Novianti, D N Choesin, D T Iskandar, D Suprayogo
The roles of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in the intensity of the foot rot disease on 937-943
pepper plant from the infected soil
Norma Fauziyah, Bambang Hadisutrisno, Suryanti
Effect of mulching and amelioration on growth and yield of groundnut on saline soil 945-954
Abdullah Taufiq, Andy Wijanarko, Afandi Kristiono

www.jdmlm.ub.ac.id i
JOURNAL OF DEGRADED AND MINING LANDS MANAGEMENT
ISSN: 2339-076X (p); 2502-2458 (e), Volume 4, Number 4 (July 2017): 853-861
DOI:10.15243/jdmlm.2017.044.853

Research Article

Water and sediment yields from two catchments with different land
cover areas
Tyas Mutiara Basuki*
Watershed Management Technology Center, Jl. A. Yani- PO BOX 295, Pabelan, Surakarta, Indonesia
* tmbasuki@yahoo.com
Received 28 April 2017, Accepted 23 May 2017

Abstract : Land cover and human activities affect water yield and soil erosion-sedimentation in a
catchment. Therefore, a study to obtain information of water and sediment yields from two catchments
covered by different land cover areas has been conducted in Tanjung and Bakar catchments. The
catchments are located in Tanah Laut Regency, South Kalimantan Province. The area of secondary forest
inTanjung and Bakar catchments are 31 and 10%. The water yield was obtained by measuring Stream
Water Level (SWL) and converted the data into stream water discharge using a stream water discharge
rating curve. Sediment samples were taken for every increament of SWL. The sediment concentration in
water samples were converted to sediment discharge (kg/second) using a sediment discharge rating curve.
The results showed that water and sediment yields in 2016 of Tanjung cacthment were higher than Bakar
catchment. The water and sediment yields of Tanjung were 2994 mm and 15.7 t/ha. Bakar catchment
produces water yield 2750 mm and sediment yield 7.4 t/ha. Based on the study, it shows that the
suspended sediment in stream water is not only affected by the percentage of forest cover, but it is also
influenced by the activities within the catchment such as traditional mining.
Keywords: forest area, sediment yield, water yield
To cite this article: Basuki, T.M. 2017. Water and sediment yields from two catchments with different land cover
areas. J. Degrade. Min. Land Manage. 4(4): 853-861, DOI: 10.15243/jdmlm.2017.044.853.

Introduction estates, and settlements will alter the natural

Land cover has an essential role in the global
water balance or water cycle (Beck et al. 2013;
Sterling et al. 2013; Liu et al. 2015) and soil
erosion sedimentation (Feng et al. 2010;
Defersha and Melesse 2012). Different forest
cover areas lead to different soil-water response
relationships of a catchment. Generally, high
percentage of forest cover area in a watershed or
catchment will produce a stable hydrological
condition in term of quantity, quality, and
continuity. However, high population growth
accompanied by rapid economic and
infrastructure developments have caused the
increase in the need of land. Consequently, land
cover or land use conversion cannot be avoided.
In that case, forest degradation or deforestation
due to land cover conversion from forest to
minings, agricultural areas, mono species of
condition of a catchment. Those problems are
commonly faced by tropical developing countries
(Aksoy and Kavvaz, 2005). These situations are
also found in Indonesia, such as in Kalimantan
which is one of the big islands in Indonesia.
The alteration of natural land use or land
cover into other uses as mentioned above often
impact on dispersion of soil aggregate, nutrient
balance, organic matter depletion, and destruction
of native species (Sharma et al. 2011; Tang et al.
2011; Baker and Miller 2013). The decrease in
natural forest covers with multi layers strata in the
forest ecosystem will reduce the opportunity of
rainfall to infiltrate into the soil. This condition is
often worse when high rainfall intensity occurs on
steep slopes of headwater catchments and it
causes severe runoff and soil erosion (Thothong et
al., 2011), as well as flooding (Aksoy and Kavvas
2005) and sedimentation at downstream areas (Shi

www.jdmlm.ub.ac.id 853
Water and sediment yields from two catchments with different land cover areas
et al. 2013). Further impact of the antropogenic
activities is not only alter water yield, but the
activities also change landform through erosion
and sedimentation processes in a watershed or a
catchment (Cai et al. 2012; Zhou et al. 2015).
According to (Baker and Miller, 2013), this
hydrological shifting is caused by the differences
in the rate of evapotranspiration, interception,
infiltration, ground water recharge as well as
surface runoff in relation to soil erosion.
Regarding to the impacts of land cover
changes on water and soil erosion-sediment
yields, most of the previous studies were
conducted by hydrological modelling (Notebaert
et al. 2011; De Girolamo and Lo Porto 2012; Isik
et al. 2013; Wang et al. 2014; Awotwi et al.
2015). In addition, most of those studies focussed
only on the impact of clear cutting in forest
harvesting on water yield and soil erosion-
sedimentation. Based on review literatures, it is
hard to find a scientific published paper about the
effect of land cover on water and sediment yields
in natural forest in Indonesia. In our study, we
Figure 1. Situation map of the study areas.
Source: BPKH Banjarbaru
Data collection
The map of land cover classification was obtained
from Balai Pemangkuan Kawasan Hutan (BPKH)
of South Kalimantan Regency in Banjarbaru. This
land cover map was derived from Landsat 7
Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management
have conducted direct measurement of water and
sediment yields using catchments approach. The
selection of the catchments was based on the
similarity of the catchment morphometries, but
with different land cover areas, especially forest
areas. The purpose of the resaerch is to study the
effect of land cover areas on water and sediment
yields.
Materials and Methods
Description of the study area
Two catchments with different secondary forest
covers were choosen as the study sites. The first
was Tanjung catchment with an area of 31.9 km2
and 30% of the areas was secondary forest. The
second catchment was Bakar catchment with its
area was 18.4 km2 which consisted of 10%
secondary forest areas. The form of these two
catchments was circular. The study areas were
located in Tanah Laut Regency, South Kalimantan
Province. Figure 1 shows the location of the study
areas.
ETM+ with spatial resolution of 30 by 30 m.
Slope steepness classes and catchment
morphologies were derived from DEM SRTM
(Digital Elevation Model of Shutlle Radar
Thermal Mission). A ground check was conducted
in 2016. Rainfall data were collected using an
854
Water and sediment yields from two catchments with different land cover areas

ombrometer or conventional rain gauge for every Data analysis

rainy day at 7.00 am. The first rainfall gauge was
Using Arcmap software, the land cover map was
installed in the Tanjung catchment and the second
cropped according to boundaries of Tanjung and
one was located near the outlet of the Bakar
Bakar catchmens. Afterwards, the areas of each
catchment. Stream water level was monitored in
cover type was calculated. The land cover map of
each outlet of the catchments using a tide-gauge
Tanjung and Bakar catchment are presented in
three times a day at 7.00 am, 12.00 am, and 17.00
Figure 2 and 3. The image of DEM SRTM was
pm. Water samples for suspended sediment
used to derived slope steepnes. The water samples
analysis was taken when there is an increase in
were analyzed in a laboratory to obtain
stream water level. The water samples were
concentration of suspended sediment.
analyzed in laboratory to measure sediment
concentration.

Figure 2. Land cover map of Tanjung catchment

Source: BPKH Banjarbaru

Figure 3. Land cover map of Bakar catchment

Source: BPKH Banjarbaru

Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management 855

Water and sediment yields from two catchments with different land cover areas

Data of stream water level from the three time Note:

measurements a day were averaged and were Qs = Sediment discharge (kg/second)
converted into stream water discharge using the Q = Water discharge (m3/second)
equations below. In this paper, water yield is
expressed as stream water discharge. Bakar catchment:

Tanjung catchment: Qs =0,257Q^1,242............................................(4)

Q = 4,3H^2,47....................................................(1) Note:
Qs = Sediment discharge (kg/second)
Note : Q = Water discharge (m3/second)
Q = Water discharge (m3/second)
H = The average of stream water level (m) For comparison of water yield between the two
catchments, the sediment discharge in kg/second
Bakar catchment: was converted into ton/ha by dividing the Qs with
the area of each catchment.
Q = 3.693H^1,78................................................(2)

Note: Results and Discussion

Q = Water discharge (m3/second)
H = The average of stream water level (m)
For comparison of water yield between the two
catchments, the stream water discharge in
m3/second was converted into mm by dividing the
Q with the area of each catchment.
To obtain the amount of suspended
sediment, a sediment rating curve was develop
based on a regression equation between sediment
concentration for every stream water level and
discharge at the coresponding stream water level.
The regression for each catchment is as follow,
Tanjung catchment:
Qs = 0,505Q^1,021.............................................(3)
Land cover and slope steepness of the
catchments
Based on the analysis, it shows that Tanjung
catchment has 3 types of land cover, while Bakar
catchment has 4 types of land cover. As illustrated
in Figure 4, the area of secondary forest is wider
in Tanjung (31%) than in Bakar catchment (10%).
Slope steepness was divided into five classess and
the result is provided in Table 1. The flat,
undulating, and very steep slope classess are
similar between Tanjung and Bakar catchments.
However, for 8-15% slope steepness, Tanjung
catchment has double perecentage area than Bakar
catchment, conversely at 25-45% gradient, Bakar
catchment has wider area than Tanjung
catchment.

60
Tanjung
Percentage of land cover

Bakar
40

20

0
Dry Land Dry Land Secondary Shrubs
Agriculture Agriculture Forest
Mixed Shrubs

Figure 4. The percentage of land cover at each catchment

Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management 856

Water and sediment yields from two catchments with different land cover areas

Table 1. Slope classes of the study areas Tanjung catchment, mean monthly water yield in
Bakar cacthment was not always higher than in
Slope Tanjung Bakar Tanjung catchment as shown in Figure 8. During
classes catchment catchment March to June and in December the stream water
(%) Area % Area % discharge in Tanjung catchment was higher than
(ha) (ha) in Bakar catchment, for the rest of the months the
0-8 1036.9 32.5 590.2 32.1 stream water discharge was higher in Bakar
8 - 15 557.6 17.5 157 8.5 catchment. Based on Paired T-test between
monthly stream water discharge of Tanjung and
15-25 503.6 15.8 270.8 14.7
Bakar catchments, it reveals that statistically there
25 - 45 746.9 23.4 573.6 31.2 is no significant differences between monthly
>45 344.6 10.8 249.2 13.5 stream discharge between Tanjung and Bakar
Total 3189.6 100 1840.8 100 catchments. At 95% confidence interval, the p
value is 0.54 In total, the stream water discharge
of Tanjung catchment in 2016 was 2994 mm and
Rainfall and stream water discharge Bakar catchment was 2750 mm.
Mean monthly rainfall in 2016 of Bakar The higher annual water yield in Tanjung
catchment was higher than Tanjung catchment catchment could be caused by wider size of
which were 338 and 264 mm/month. The highest Tanjung catchment as compared to Bakar. The
monthly rainfall for the both catchments occurs in area of Tanjung catchment (31.9 km2) is almost
December. The total amount of rainfall in 2016 double compared to Bakar catchment (18.4 km2).
for Bakar catchment was 4052 mm and for This finding is in line with a research finding
Tanjung catchment was 2971 mm. The conducted by Basuki et al. (2017) in teak
comparison of the monthly rainfall is graphed in catchments. Basuki et al. (2017) found that annual
Figure 5. water yield from teak catchment with area 13.5
Rainfall is the input for a water balance km2 was higher than that from teak cacthment
system in a catchment and the output is the water with area of 3.4 km2. In addition, Gallo et al.
yield or the stream water discharge. The (2015) found that the size of catchment has more
relationship between monthly rainfall and influence on water yield than land cover and
monthly discharge are presented in Figures 6 and rainfall in their research using 78 catchments with
7 for Tanjung and Bakar catchments, respectively. various sizes from small (0.1 ha) to very large
The coefficient of determination between monthly (>10,000 km2). However, according to Blschl et
rainfall and mean monthly discharge is higher in al. (2007), hydrologycal response of a small
Bakar (0.60) than in Tanjung (0.54). The scatter catchment is more affected by land cover
plot of Tanjung and bakar catchments are condition and for a large cacthment or watershed,
illustrated in Figures 6 and 7. Although monthly it is more influenced by climate.
rainfall at Bakar catchment was higher than in

Figure 5. Monthly rainfall of Tanjung and Bakar catchments in 2016

Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management 857

Water and sediment yields from two catchments with different land cover areas

Figure 6. Scatter plot of monthly rainfall vs mean monthly stream water discharge at Tanjung catchment

Figure 7. Scatter plot of monthly rainfall vs mean monthly stream water discharge at Bakar catchment

Figure 8. The comparison of monthly rainfall and mean monthly water yield at Tanjung catchment

Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management 858

Water and sediment yields from two catchments with different land cover areas

Sediment of the studied catchments However, the slope of the equation is higher for
Tanjung catchment, it means that the equation for
The relationship between rainfall and suspended
Tanjung catchment is more sensitive than Bakar
sediment of the catchments are presented in
catchment. In other words, the increase in rainfall
Figures 9 and 10. The coeficient of determination
will cause higher increase in sediment at Tanjung
between rainfall and sediment for Tanjung
catchment than in Bakar catchment.
catchment is lower than Bakar catchment.

Figure 9. Scatter plot of monthly rainfall vs monthly sediment discharge of Tanjung catchment

Figure 10. Scatter plot of monthly rainfall vs sediment discharge of Bakar catchment

To compare sediment between the catchments, the
unit of sediment (kg/second) was converted into
ton/ha by dividing the area of each catchment.
The comparison of sediment between the two
catchments is shown in Figure 11. This figure
shows that alhtough Bakar catchment had higher
rainfall and lower forest cover area than Tanjung
cacthment, however its sediment yield was lower
than Tanjung catchment. In 2016, the total
sediment yield from Tanjung catchments was 15.7
t/ha and from Bakar catchment was 7.4 t/ha. This
difference is statistically significant at 95%
confidence interval and the p value is 0.000.
Based on the field observation, the high sediment
concentration in the Tanjung river was from gold
mining activities. Some of the areas in Tanjung
cacthment are used for traditional gold mining.
The local people sift and wash soil which contents
raw material of gold in the river and it causes high
sediment concentration.

Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management 859

Water and sediment yields from two catchments with different land cover areas
Figure 11. The comparison of rainfall and sediment between Tanjung and Bakar catcmenths
The other possible reason for low sediment
concentration in Bakar catchment is the high
shrub cover. Although Bakar catchment has low
forest cover (10%), however, it is dominated by
shrub which occupies 43% of its area. In this
regards, shrub also has a role to protect soil from
mechanic energy of raindrops and prevent
dispersion of soil agregate. Therefore less soil
erosion and sediment concentration in the river. A
research conducted in Loess Plateau in China has
concluded that the best soil protection from
erosion has been found under forest, shrub, and
dense grass covers (Sun et al., 2014).
Conclusion
Total water and sediment yields in 2016 from
Tanjung catchment with 32% secondary forest
area were higher than from Bakar cacthment
covered by 10% secondary forest. Sediment yield
of a catchment is not only affected by the
percentage of forest cover area, but it is also
influenced by other land uses or activities such as
mining in the catchment. Furher studies related to
water yield from catchments with various forest
cover areas will be useful to determine the
optimal percentage of forest cover areas to
produce an optimal water yield.
Acknowledgements
I would like to appreciate and thanks to the reviewers
for their constructive comments. This research is
funded by Watershed Managemnet Technology Center.
Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management
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Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management 862

JOURNAL OF DEGRADED AND MINING LANDS MANAGEMENT
ISSN: 2339-076X (p); 2502-2458 (e), Volume 4, Number 4 (July 2017): 863-871
DOI:10.15243/jdmlm.2017.044.863

Research Article

Growth and survival rate of endemic trees of Ethiopia: Olea africana

and Hagenia abysinicca in the degraded lake of Haramaya Watershed,
Ethiopia
Eba Muluneh Sorecha*
School of Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences, Haramaya University, P.O.Box. 138 Dire
Dawa, Ethiopia
*
ebamule1@gmail.com
Received 21 April 2017, Accepted 16 May 2017

Abstract: The study was conducted to explore the growth and survival rate of the native tree species of
Ethiopia, Olea africana and Hagenia abysinicca in the degraded Lake Haramaya Watershed, eastern
Ethiopia. Three sub watersheds of Lake Haramaya Watershed, namely: Bachake, Damota, and Tinike
were selected purposefully on the basis of their extreme degradation and nearby vanished Lake
Haramaya. In each sub watersheds, a total of about 12 main standard quadrats have been applied and the
required data has been recorded. The result of the study indicated that Olea africana performs well at
Damota sub watershed, accounting 38% of survival rate followed by Tinike sub watershed having a
survival rate of 37%. Only 29% of the total planted Olea africana were survived at Bachake sub
watershed. Furthermore, it has been revealed via this study that about 55.6% of Hagenia abysinicca were
survived at Damota sub watershed. Comparing the survival rate of the two species, Hagenia abysinicca
were better withstand and grow under an extreme pressure of local peoples intervention at all sub
watersheds. Therefore, the study indicated that growing and maintaining of these two endemic trees in all
sub watersheds were difficult task unless much awareness will be made at grass root level. Lastly, the
study encourages mega projects on growth and survival rate of other native trees species in the degraded
areas of Ethiopia.
Keywords: endemic trees, Hagenia abysinicca, Olea africana, sub watershed, survival rate
To cite this article: Sorecha, E.M. 2017. Growth and survival rate of endemic trees of Ethiopia : Olea africana and
Hagenia abysinicca in the degraded lake of Haramaya Watershed, Ethiopia. J. Degrade. Min. Land Manage. 4(4):
863-871, DOI: 10.15243/jdmlm.2017.044.863.

Introduction population Ethiopia is living in the rural areas,

Ethiopia is very known by its heterogeneous
higher plant species estimated to be around 6500
7000, of which more than 1219 % are native
(WCMC, 1992; Teketay, 2001; Hurni, 2007;
CBD, 2008). This is due the fact that the country
has a wide variety of ecological characteristics
associated with ample diversity of plant and
animal species (Alemayehu, 2002). However, a
number of studies indicated that almost all of the
natural vegetation of Ethiopia is under an extreme
pressure of anthropogenic threats (Yirdaw, 1996;
Million, 2001; Tesfaye, 2015; Newton and
Cantarello 2015). Given about 85% of the
their livelihood system is either directly or
indirectly depends on agriculture, which provides
about 52% of the countrys GDP (World Bank,
2000; CIA, 2001).
The speedy decline of forest resources in
Ethiopia has resulted in reduction of their
biodiversity and on the verge of extinction of
certain tree species (Tekle and Hedlund, 2000;
WRI, 2001; Alemayehu, 2002a). Olea africana
and Hagenia abysinicca is the major endemic tree
species mainly found in Ethiopia, basically on the
highland areas of the country. Currently, these
tree species are under a big threat of human
influences. The local name of Olea africana is

www.jdmlm.ub.ac.id 863
Growth and survival rate of endemic trees of Ethiopia
Ejersa in Afan Oromo and Weyirain Amharic.
This species is well known by the local people for
its traditional medicine preparation, tooth brush
and sometimes for charcoal production.
Moreover, Hagenia abysinicca is locally known
as Muka Heexoo in Afan Oromo and Yekoso Zaf
in Amharic and well known for its medicinal
value. The climate of Ethiopia has been changing
as a result of global and local effects of vegetation
degradation. Loss of forest cover and biodiversity
owing to human-induced activities is a growing
arena of many parts of the world including our
country, Ethiopia (Sebsebe, 1980).Thus, frequent
drought, crop failure and famine are becoming
common events in the highlands, like eastern
Hararghe which are the symbols of desertification
(Teketay, 2001). In line with this, Haramaya
University, Ethiopia via Lake Haramaya
Watershed project has given deep attention to
these endemic trees and grows the seedlings to
use them as a main rehabilitation tree of the
degraded lands of Lake Haramaya sub
Figure 1. Map of the study area
Information obtained from Ethiopian National
Meteorology Agency indicates that the mean
annual rainfall and mean maximum and minimum
temperatures of Haramaya watershed are 847.9
mm, 24.7 C, and 11.5 C, respectively (Fgure 2).
The area received bimodal pattern of rainfall.
This study was conducted in particular at
Bachake (3 ha), Damota (2.75 ha) and Tinike (3
ha) sub-watersheds, which are among the 28 sub
watersheds of Lake Haramaya watershed. The
reason for choosing the three of the sub-
watersheds were due to their presence under the
Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management
watersheds. This is for the sake of maintaining the
species in to the environment though it was a
challenging task. Therefore, this study was
undertaken to explore the growth and survival rate
of the endemic tree species of Olea africana and
Hagenia abysinicca, so as to put baseline
information about the status of the two tree
species in the watershed.
Materials and Methods
Description of the study area
Lake Haramaya Watershed is located in
Haramaya and partly in Kombolcha districts,
Eastern Hararghe Zone, Oromia National Region
State, and East Ethiopia (Figure 1). The
Watershed lies between 92312.27- 9319.85
N and 415828.02- 428h10.26 E (UTM
Zone 38) and covers an area of 15,329.96 ha. The
elevation ranges from 1800 to 2345 meters above
sea level.
extreme pressure of anthropogenic factors; local
communities were using these lands as a common
grazing lands, expansion of agriculture to plant
cash crops like Khat (Catha edulis) and to lesser
extent Coffee (Coffee arabica). Generally, many
socio-economic activities were well notified as
per the preliminary field observation of this study
and key informant informal interview (not
presented in this paper). Furthermore, of the 28
sub-watersheds, three of them are very nearby
vanished Lake Haramaya, (on average 5 km away
from the lake).
864
Growth and survival rate of endemic trees of Ethiopia

RF Tmax. Tmin.
140 30

Temperatures (0C)
120 25

Rainfall (mm)
100 20
80
15
60
40 10
20 5
0 0

Oct

Dec
Jan

May
Jun

Nov
Jul
Mar
Apr
Feb

Aug
Sep
Months

Figure 2. Monthly rainfall and temperature during 1980-2013 in Lake Haramaya Watershed

Seedlings preparation techniques holding capacity, nutrient content, and aeration

for plant growth and development. Therefore, the
Seedling preparation has been conducted at Rare
pot-planted seedlings were stayed on nursery site
Nursery site, Haramaya University, Ethiopia. In
for at least six months begging from their planting
the processes of seedlings preparation, forest soil,
time and all the required management were
compost /farm yard manure, sand, and local top
undertaken till plantation time. Then after, the
soil were used by mixing all the substrates at
seedlings of both Olea africana and Hagenia
different ratios. The most used ratio is 3 local top
abysinicca were taken to the field via tractor-
soils: 2forest soil/compost/farm yard manure: 1
vehicle used for transportation of seedlings. The
sand. The mixed up media were added in to a pot
height of Olea africana at the time of planting
having a diameter size of 8cm to support the sown
was estimated to be 35 cm and that of Hagenia
seeds. Most potting mixes were soilless to avoid
abysinicca was estimated to be about 45 cm, just
soil borne diseases and promote good drainage
the height above the ground.
and suitable environment with sufficient water-

Sand Compost Forest soil

Site preparation techniques for plantation work of constructing the physical structure was
better in Damota sub watershed. Finally, pits
All the selected sub watersheds have been
having an average depth of 30 cm and width of 40
delineated and to lesser extent area closure has
cm were prepared along the physical structures
been done accordingly, though not effective.
across the slope within 2 m distance from one
Additionally, physical soil and water conservation
another. Majority of the pits were prepared by the
structures have been built by the local people with
respective farmers of the sub watersheds and
the coordination of Lake Haramaya Watershed
seedlings plantation campaign was made by the
Project, early before the main rainy season of
local people in collaboration with Lake Haramaya
Ethiopia (June, July, August, and September). The

Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management 865

Growth and survival rate of endemic trees of Ethiopia

Watershed Project run under Haramaya m radius. The operation has been multiplied 12
University. times with same transects size and design for all
specific study sites at an interval of 50 m.
Transect establishment, data collection and Therefore, a total of about 12 main quadrats have
analysis been laid out for each sub watersheds and the
required data has been recorded (Figure 4).
For each specific study site (Bachake, Damota,
Mortality rate and survival rate were calculated
and Tinike), four subplots has been established
for both endemic tree species at all sub
systematically across the slope, one with its center watersheds in the study area. The formulas used
located at the center of the spoke and the were:
remaining three located at 20.5 m away from the
center subplots (Figure 3). Each subplot has a 7.5

Number of saplings recorded dead during a given year

Mortality rate x 100 (Megan, 2013)
Total number of saplings in a given year

Survival Rate = 100 Mortality Rate

Figure 3. Sample data collection design

Source: (USDA Forest Service, 2003; Schulz et al., 2009)

Figure 4. Sampling spot design for each sub watersheds

Results and Discussion
The results of the study depicted that of the
transects established at all sub watersheds, Olea
africana performs well at Damota, accounting
about 38%of survival rate, followed by Tinike sub
watershed having a survival rate of 37%.
However, at Bachake sub watershed little survival
rate of Olea africanahas been recorded, only 29%
(Table 1). The reasons for the variation of survival
rate at all sub watersheds were due to high
interference of local peoples. However, some
studies are indicating that conservation and
management of plants dominated by farming
communities are getting attention nowadays
(Garrity and Verchot, 2008; Lemenih and Kassa,

Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management 866

Growth and survival rate of endemic trees of Ethiopia

2014). Furthermore, it has been noticed during the
study that the perception of local people in all sub
watersheds, particularly, in Bachake sub
watersheds, towards the growth of considered
endemic tree species was so poor though they use
these trees for traditional and other purposes
(Table 2). Rather, they need to use the lands for
free grazing. Thus, of the total number of
seedlings planted during 2015/16 rainfall season,
majority of them have been died. Late plantation
due to late onset of rainfall and early cessation,
poor ways of plantation, little commitment by
local people in monitoring after plantation,
farmers preferences of other commercial trees
like, Eucalyptus species, Grevillea robust and
fruit trees are also another factor. Soil as a factor
of seedlings growth has been kept constant in this
particular work. The other negligible challengesof
seedlings plantation in this work was those
seedlings die or at risk while transportation for
plantation. The above constraints are similar to
those facing the forest development in Ethiopia as
noted by Derero et al., (2011) which include:
Transportation of seedlings, poor seedling quality
and inappropriate silviculture, poor research
extension linkage and poor coordination in the
sector.

Table 1. Total number of seedlings planted, number of saplings dead, mortality and survival rate of Olea
africana and Hagenia abysinicca at Bachake, Damota and Tinike during 2015/16
Olea africana
Site Total tree seedlings planted Number of saplings Mortality rate Survival rate
during 2015/16 dead (%) (%)
Bachake 4500 3200 71.0 29.0
Damota 4700 2900 61.7 38.3
Tinike 4500 2960 63.0 37.0
Hagenia abysinicca
Bachake 3000 1760 58.7 41.3
Damota 2700 1200 44.4 55.6
Tinike 2500 1320 52.8 47.2

On the other hand, the study indicated that of the
total Hagenia abysinicca planted 3000 seedlings
during 2015 rainfall season , about 41% were
survived at Bachake sub watershed. Whereas, it
was 55.6 and 47.2% for Damota and Tinike sub
watersheds, respectively. Comparing the two tree
endemic species, Hagenia abysinicca performed
well at all sub watersheds. This could be due the
reason that Hagenia abysinicca has a natural
ability to withstand and grow under an extreme
pressure of human influence. Furthermore,
(Negash et al. 2012; Tadesse et al. 2014)
suggested that it may be the result of socio-
culture, land use and management intensities, and
farmers perceptions on the specified tree in the
area that leads the allowance of trees to grow.
Furthermore, Table 2 shows a simple descriptive
statistics of number of saplings dead for Olea
africana at all sub watersheds considered for this
study.
In all quadrats established at all sub
watersheds, Bachake sub watershed shows the
highest number of saplings dead, about 400
plants. However, the study revealed that the
average value for saplings dead at Damota sub
watershed was estimated to be lower than the
other two sub watersheds, accounting about 241.7
saplings of the planted 4700 (Table 2). The same
pattern has been noticed for Hagenia abysinicca
where the average saplings dead at Damota sub
watershed were less, about 100 saplings followed
by Tinike sub watershed which is about 110
saplings (Table 3). The reason for this could be
due a bit commitment of the local people towards
the management of the respective sub watersheds.
It has been recognized via this study that of
planted saplings of Olea africana 13700 at all sub
watersheds considered in this paper, about 9060
have been already died due to many reasons in the
areas (Table 4). The average value of dead
saplings of Olea africana at all sub watersheds
has been estimated to be 3020 (Table 4).
Moreover, of the total of planted saplings at all
sub watersheds of Hagenia abysinicca 8200,
about 4280 saplings were died. The dead saplings
at all sub watersheds considered ranges from 1200
to 1760 having the mean value of 1427 saplings
(Table 5).

Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management 867

Growth and survival rate of endemic trees of Ethiopia

Table 2.Descriptive statistics of number of saplings dead of Olea africana

Qua1 Qua2 Qua3 Qua4 Qua5 Qua6 Qua7 Qua8 Qua9 Qua10 Qua11 Qua12 Mean Min. Max. SDE
Bachake 300 400 266 250 351 240 305 275 294 169 150 200 266.7 150 400 71.90
Damota 277 350 266 230 300 231 235 275 320 169 127 120 241.7 120 350 72.46
Tinike 200 234 342 230 329 231 321 275 248 270 170 110 246.7 110 342 67.53
Qua is Quadrat

Table 3. Descriptive statistics of number of saplings dead of Hagenia abysinicca at all sub watersheds in all quadrats established
Qua1 Qua2 Qua3 Qua4 Qua5 Qua6 Qua7 Qua8 Qua9 Qua10 Qua11 Qua12 Mean Min. Max. SDE
Bachake 130 134 218 222 245 17 130 129 190 129 116 100 146.7 17 245 62.9
Damota 100 145 111 100 145 123 123 40 145 100 23 45 100 23 145 42.4
Tinike 200 190 56 100 160 123 90 40 120 100 59 82 110 40 200 51.4
Qua is Quadrat

Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management 868

Growth and survival rate of endemic trees of Ethiopia

Table 4. Descriptive statistics of number of saplings dead at a composite of three sub watersheds of Lake Haramaya watersheds for Olea africana
Qua1 Qua2 Qua3 Qua4 Qua5 Qua6 Qua7 Qua8 Qua9 Qua10 Qua11 Qua12 Total
Bachake 300 400 266 250 351 240 305 275 294 169 150 200 3200
Damota 277 350 266 230 300 231 235 275 320 169 127 120 2900
Tinike 200 234 342 230 329 231 321 275 248 270 170 110 2960
Mean 259 328 291 237 327 234 287 275 287 203 149 143 3020
Min. 200 234 266 230 300 231 235 275 248 169 127 110 2900
Max. 300 400 342 250 351 240 321 275 320 270 170 200 3200
SDE 52.4 85.2 43.9 11.6 25.6 5.2 45.7 0 36.5 58.3 21.5 49.3 158.7
Sum 777 984 874 710 980 702 861 825 862 608 447 430 9060
Qua is Quadrat

Table 5. Descriptive statistics of number of saplings dead at a composite of three sub watersheds of Lake Haramaya watersheds for Hagenia abysinicca
Qua1 Qua2 Qua3 Qua4 Qua5 Qua6 Qua7 Qua8 Qua9 Qua10 Qua11 Qua12 Total
Bachake 130 134 218 222 245 17 130 129 190 129 116 100 1760
Damota 100 145 111 100 145 123 123 40 145 100 23 45 1200
Tinike 200 190 56 100 160 123 90 40 120 100 59 82 1320
Mean 143 156 128 141 183 87.7 114 70 152 110 66 76 1427
Min. 100 134 56 100 145 17 90 40 120 100 23 45 1200
Max. 200 190 218 222 245 123 130 129 190 129 116 100 1760
SDE 51 30 82.4 70.4 54 61 21.4 51.4 36 16.7 47 28 294
Sum 430 469 385 422 550 263 343 209 455 329 198 227 4280
Qua is Quadrat

Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management 869

Growth and survival rate of endemic trees of Ethiopia
Conclusion and Recommendation
It could be generalized from the results of the
study that the growth and survival of endemic tree
species, Olea africana and Hagenia abysinicca
have been widely intervened by the human
activities at all sub watersheds. Of three sub
watersheds, both trees perform well at Damota,
survival rate about 38 and 55.6% for Olea
africana and Hagenia abysinicca, respectively. In
contrast, little survival rate for both tree species
have been observed at Bachake sub watershed. In
line with this, much has to be done on the local
communities awareness creation about the
importance of these endemic trees. Training and
participatory nursery development is proven
methods of building farmers awareness,
leadership and technical skills (Carandang et al.,
2006). Efforts by Haramaya University via Lake
Haramaya Watershed project to rehabilitate these
degraded watershed using Endemic trees has been
done, however, little attention has been given by
woreda administrative. Therefore, the study
encourages strong linkage between the woreda
administrative and University, one to rehabilitate
the degraded watersheds, two to maintain such an
endemic tree species with the watershed in
specific and with the country in general.
Acknowledgement
I thank Mr. Ayele Shewangizawu and Mr. Abduraman
Abdullahi for their cooperation while conducting field
data collection for this work. Also it is my pleasure to
thank Mr. Teferi Taddese, Coordinator of Lake
Haramaya Watershed Project for his financial issue
facilitation.
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Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management 872

JOURNAL OF DEGRADED AND MINING LANDS MANAGEMENT
ISSN: 2339-076X (p); 2502-2458 (e), Volume 4, Number 4 (July 2017): 873-880
DOI:10.15243/jdmlm.2017.044.873

Research Article

The effect of ameliorants on improvement of soil fertility in post gold

mining land at West Kalimantan
Sulakhudin1*, Denah Suswati1, Muhammad Hatta2
1
Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Tanjungpura University, Indonesia
2
West Kalimantan Assessment Institute for Agricultural Technology, Indonesia
*
corresponding author: sulakhudin@gmail.com
Received 11 April 2017, Accepted 16 May 2017

Abstract : The application of ameliorant has been suggested to improve soil fertility and crop growth in
post illegal gold mining (PIGM) lands. This study evaluated the effect of ameliorant types and semi-
permeable layer on properties of soil in PIGM lands and growth of sorghum. A field experiment
employed two treatments, i.e. type of ameliorant and semi-permeable layer. There were four ameliorant
types applied i.e., without ameliorant (M0); coastal sediment at a dose of 40 t/ha (M1); biochar at a dose
of 4 t/ha (M2), and coastal sediment at a dose of 30 t/ha + 4 t biochar/ha (M3). The second treatment
consisted of two levels, namely: without a semi-permeable layer (S0) and the semi-permeable layer of 20
cm depth from the soil surface (S1). The results showed that types of ameliorant gave different effect to
soil properties. Application of coastal sediment at a dose of 40 t/ha significantly increased the contents of
Ca and Mg, whereas application of biochar at a doses of 4 t/ha increased soil CEC. The semi-permeable
layer did not significantly affect plant height and stem diameter of sorghum. The highest of sorghum
growth was reached by application of coastal sediment at a dose of 30 t/h + biochar at a dose of 4 t/ha.
The combination of coastal sediment and biochar from banana peels could complement each other to
improve soil fertility in PIGM land.
Keywords: ameliorant, biochar, coastal sediment, post gold mining land, sorghum
To cite this article: Sulakhudin, Suswati, D. and Hatta, M. 2017. The effect of ameliorants on improvement of soil
fertility in post gold mining land at West Kalimantan. J. Degrade. Min. Land Manage. 4(4): 873-880, DOI:
10.15243/jdmlm.2017.044.873.

Introduction low. In 10-15 years after mining activities the Hg

Illegal gold mining has been going on since
before the 17th century. Mining was done
traditionally in the river, but the last decade it
moved to the land because of the gold reserves in
the Kapuas River had been reduced. Mining
which has been operated for many years resulted
in environmental pollution and land degradation.
The land of PIGM reached 6,613 ha that spread
across 267 locations in eleven districts in West
Kalimantan (Department of Mines and Energy,
2012). The PIGM lands have been damaged in
physically, chemically, biologically and contain
Hg (Neneng et al., 2012). The results of the study
conducted by Ferianto et al. (2013) showed that
Hg levels in PIGM land in West Kalimantan were
www.jdmlm.ub.ac.id
content was an average of 0.037 ppm. When
compared to the quality standard of mercury
abundance in the soil of 10 ppm (Stwertka, 1998),
then the PIGM land can be utilized for cultivation
of food crops. Once of food crops that can be
cultivated in the PIGM is sorghum. It can be
grown well in infertile soil conditions (Irawan and
Sutrisna, 2011). Additionally, sorghum is drought
resistant, needs low input, high yield and can be
accumulator metal elements (Jamali et al., 2007).
Development of food crops in the PIGM
land requires the right technology because the soil
in the area had been degraded. Application of a
specific amelioration technology is expected to
optimize the soil in the area of PIGM to support
the growth of food crops. This technology uses
873
The effect of ameliorants on improvement of soil fertility in post gold mining land at West Kalimantan
local resources such as coastal sediment and
biochar from banana peels, so the production cost
can be reduced. Coastal sediment that is the result
of sea deposition is widespread on the coast of
West Kalimantan. According to Suswati (2009),
the coastal sediment ameliorant could replace the
role of lime in increasing pH and base saturation
(BS). Results of the study of Suswati et al. (2015)
showed that the addition of coastal sediment on
PIGM land reduced soil acidity, and improved
CEC, BS, and availability of soil nutrients (K+,
Ca2+, Mg2+ and Na+). Application of coastal
sediment at a dose of 40 t/ha on peat could
increase the yield of hybrid maize that reached 12
t/ha (Suswati et al., 2014).
In addition to the use of coastal sediment,
soil fertility of PIGM land can be improved by
applying biochar. It can improve the soil
chemical, physical, and biological properties
contain functional groups and amorphous as well
as resistant in soil (Sohi et al., 2010; Tammeorg et
al., 2016). Biochar generally has high pH, C-
organic and CEC (Lehmann, 2007). Biochar has
high water absorption and is resistant to microbial
decomposition (Lehmann and Joseph, 2009). The
properties make biochar has a high nutrient
retention, thereby reducing nutrient leaching and
increasing nutrient use efficiency (Laird et al.,
2010; Hussain et al., 2016). According to Novak
et al. (2010), biochar addition increases retention
of water containing N, P, and K nutrients that can
be absorbed by plants. The results of the study of
Hairani et al. (2016), biochar application of 35
t/ha was able to increase the yield of sorghum
1.48 times higher than without biochar. Once of
good substance for making biochar is banana peel
because it is an ordinary biological waste with a
high content of cellulose and minerals (Zhou et
al., 2017).
Studies on the effects of the addition of
coastal sediment and biochar to improve soil
fertility in PIGM are limited. Many studies have
been carried out on the use of biochar and coastal
sediment to increase soil fertility in some soil in
an individual manner. The hypothesis was that
application of coastal sediment and biochars can
improve soil fertility and growth of sorghum in
PIGM land by favorable changes in soil
physicochemical properties. This study extends
knowledge related to the use of coastal sediment
and biochar as soil amendments to the reclamation
of PIGM land, so it can play a role in supporting
sustainable food security program nationally.
Materials and Methods
A field experiment was carried out at the PIGM
land in Simpang Monterado Village, Monterado
Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management
Sub-District, Bengkayang District of West
Kalimantan Province. The experiment was
conducted from July to October 2016. Coastal
sediment was derived from Kijing beach and
applied in wet condition. Biochar was obtained by
hydrolysis of banana peels at a temperature of 350
o
C. The study was a factorial randomized
complete block design with two treatments and
five replicates. The first treatment was the
amelioration of top soil (M) that consisted of four
levels, namely: without amelioration (M0), coastal
sediment at a dose of 40 t/ha (M1), biochar at a
dose of 4 t/ha (M2), and coastal sediment at a
dose of 30 t/ha + biochar 4 t/ha. The second
treatment was a semi-permeable layer thickness
(S) that consisted of two levels, namely: without a
semi-permeable layer (S0), and semi-permeable
layer as deep as 20 cm of the soil surface, semi-
permeable 3 cm thick layer (S1). The semi-
permeable layer made from a mixture of 5% of
coastal sediment and 95% sandy soil from PIGM
areas. The study comprised 40 plots (each of 3 m
x 1.5 m size) with a 1 m protection zone framing
the experimental field. The sorghum was planted
at a spacing of 60 cm x 40 cm, resulting in 21
plants per plot. Six plant samples were taken
randomly for measurements of height plant and
stem diameter per weeks. Fertilizers applied as
basal fertilizers were manure 5 t/ha, Urea 200
kg/ha, SP-36 100 kg/ha and KCl 50 kg/ha. Plant
growth variables measured were plant height and
stem diameter.
The measurements were made every week
until the end of vegetative growth. Soil analysis
was performed after the treatment. Some
properties of soil analyzed were pH (H2O),
electrical conductivity (EC), cation exchange
capacity (CEC), base saturation (BS), contents of
N, P, K Ca, Mg and Na in the soil. The analysis
of soil properties was conducted at the Laboratory
of Soil Chemistry and Fertility, Faculty of
Agriculture, Tanjungpura University. Data
obtained were subjected to analysis of variance
(two-way ANOVA) using the Microsoft Excel
software and R statistic version 3.3.2. The
differences between treatments were analyzed
with Duncans test at the 0.05 level.
Results and Discussion
Characteristics of coastal sediment, biochar, and
soil in PIGM land
The characterization of coastal sediment and
biochar is shown in Table 1. Coastal sediment was
the result of sedimentation materials result of
erosion from the upland area through watershed
deposited around the coast. The content of
874
The effect of ameliorants on improvement of soil fertility in post gold mining land at West Kalimantan

nutrients in the coastal sediment varies greatly (Rajkovich et al., 2012). The Ca content in coastal
depending on soil type and conditions of the sediment was 9.76 cmol(+)/kg. Other than as a
origin of these sediments. The coastal sediment nutrient source, it can maintain the balance of
for this study was alkaline with a pH of 8, due to nutrients in the soil in PIGM. Table 2 shows that
the presence of base cations mainly Ca and Mg the BS of the soil in the PIGM was only 26.37%,
with concentrations of 9.75 and 5.82 cmol(+)/ kg, while the coastal sediment was more than 82.87%,
respectively. The content of Mg in coastal so application coastal sediment was expected to
sediment was higher than that used by Suswati et increase soil pH and BS in PIGM land. Besides
al. (2015), amounting to 1.73 cmol(+)/kg, while coastal sediment had a high Mg content, as many
the Ca content was lower. The coastal sediment as 5.82 cmol(+) /kg, it could raise the availability
that was used by Suswati et al. (2015) has Ca of Mg in the soil. Mg contents in the soil in PIGM
content of 14.62 cmol(+)/kg. It had high BS land was very low, only 0.31 cmol(+)/ kg.
(82.87%) and consisted of 3.57% sand, 46.90% The positive effect of coastal sediment can
silt, and 49.53% clay. The high clay content will be improved by adding the biochar, especially
increase soil CEC because clay is a source of soil those made from banana peels. Biochar is made
negative charge (Bergaya and Lagaly, 2006). by pyrolysis to obtain biochar with good quality.
The content of total N in biochar was 1.82% while
Table 1. The characteristics of coastal sediment the total N content in coastal sediment that was
and biochar. only 0.89%. Additionally, the biochar also
contained 10.13 cmol(+) K/kg, while the coastal
Properties Coastal Banana sediment only contained 0.18 cmol(+) K/kg. Thus,
sediment Peel the use of two ameliorants was expected to
Biochar improve some properties of soil in PIGM land at
pH H2O 1:2 8.0 9.7 District Monterado, Bengkayang. The soil of the
Organic-C (%) 4.81 33.93 study site has suffered severe physical, chemical
Total N (%) 0.88 1.82 and biological damages that make the soil was not
P Bray I (ppm) 0.51 0.37 able to support optimal plant growth.
Extract NH4OAc
1N pH 7
K (cmol(+)/kg) 0.18 10.13 Table 2. The characteristics of soil in the PIGM
Ca (cmol(+)/kg) 9.75 0.82 land in the sub-district of Monterado.
Mg (cmol(+)/kg) 5.82 0.54 Soil properties Value Level
Na (cmol(+)/kg) 3.24
pH H2O 1:2 5.94 slightly acid
CEC (cmol(+)/kg) 22.94
pH KCl 1:2 5.10 acid
Base Saturation (%) 82.87
Organic-C (%) 0.21 very low
Texture
Total N (%) 0.03 very low
Sand (%) 3.57
P Bray I (ppm) 15.21 very high
Silt (%) 46.90
Extract NH4OAc 1N
Clay (%) 49.53
pH 7
K (cmol(+)/kg) 0.02 very low
Ca (cmol(+)/kg) 0.88 very low
As indicated in Table 1, the banana peel biochar
was more alkaline and had a high K Mg (cmol(+)/kg) 0.31 very low
concentration. The high pH value of banana peel Na (cmol(+)/kg) 0.04 very low
biochar may be due to hydrolysis that was Hg (ppm) nd nd
undergone by carbonates and bicarbonates of base CEC (cmol(+)/kg) 4.74 very low
cations such as K, Ca and Mg. Biochar from Base Saturation (%) 26.37 low
banana peels had 10.13 cmol(+)/kg of K, 0.82 Texture
cmol(+) / kg of Ca and 0.54 cmol(+)/ kg of Mg. In Sand (%) 95.00 sandy
line with the study of Butnan et al. (2015) which Silt (%) 5.00
reported that among the nutrients in ash that are Clay (%) 0.00
sources of plant nutrients, Ca and K constituted Source: Leveling according to the Soil Research
the two highest contents, whereas Mg and P were Institute (2005), nd = not detected
the two lowest in the biochars. A number of
biochars have high quantities of ash, which are The results of the analysis of some soil physical
enriched with several plant nutrients, particularly and chemical properties showed that the soil in
cationic elements, such as K, Ca, and Mg the PIGM land has low fertility. It is shown that

Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management 875

The effect of ameliorants on improvement of soil fertility in post gold mining land at West Kalimantan
the binding ability of soil nutrients and water are
very low. The ability of soil to retain water and
soil nutrients can be seen from the value of the
CEC that was very low at 4.74 cmol(+)/kg (Table
2). In addition, the low fertility rate can also be
seen from the sandy soil texture. The content of
the sand particle in the PIGM land was 95%. This
value was higher than in the soil of PIGM land in
the District Mandor that amounted to 91.53%
(Sagiman et al., 2015). Soil mineral fraction that
is dominated by sand will lead to the low ability
to store water and nutrients because the sand has
low sorption sites (negative charge) (Schoonover
and Crim, 2015). Soil particles that are dominated
by sand fraction have high permeability. This will
cause the very high rate of leaching of nutrients in
the soil (Jalali and Merrikhpour. 2008). As a
result, the availability of nutrients is low to very
low.
Table 2 shows the low nutrient contents of
total N (0.03%), K (0.02 cmol(+) /kg), Ca (0.88
cmol(+)/kg), Mg- (0.31 cmol(+)/kg) and Na (0.04
cmol(+)/kg). Only P content that was
exceptionally high reaching 15.21 ppm. The very
low CEC value (4.47 cmol(+)/kg) might be
caused by several factors, among others: (1) the
soil does not contain clay fraction (0.00%) which
is a source of soil negative charge; (2) the soil
organic matter content is very low as indicated by
the low value of organic C was 0.21% (Kleber et
al., 2015). The very low soil organic matter
content could be due to the rapid rate of
decomposition of organic matter in sandy soil
because the temperature was quite high and
aerobic atmosphere (Zechmeister et al., 2015).
The results of the analysis presented in Table 2
show that the organic material was decomposed
further (C/N = 7). The pH value of the soil at
PIGM land amounted 5.94 was slight acid. The
pH value of the soil will be a limiting factor
because some nutrients became less available, e.g.
nutrient K, Ca and Mg so that less can provide the
optimal nutrients for plant growth (Fageria, 2016).
One of the alternatives to increase pH was by
giving coastal sediment and biochar. Besides
being able to increase the pH and availability of
some nutrients, coastal sediment and biochar can
improve some properties of soil in the PIGM land.
Effect of ameliorant and semi-permeable layer
on soil chemical properties in PIGM Land
Data presented in Table 3 show that the
application of ameliorants significantly improved
some chemical properties of the soil in the PIGM
land. All treatments were able to increase the pH
significantly compared with no ameliorant
(control). The highest increase of soil pH was
Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management
caused by application of 30 t coastal sediment/ ha
+ 4 t biochar/ha (M3). This was because of both
materials had high pH (Table 1). The coastal
sediment had pH of 8.0; the banana peel biochar
had pH of 9.7 so that a combination of both
materials could increase the pH exceeding other
treatments. The M3 treatment raised soil pH from
pH 5.94 to 7.03. Suswati et al. (2015) reported
that application of coastal sediment at doses of
14-100 t/ha raised significantly soil pH because it
contained high alkaline cations. Whereas biochar
raised soil pH because biochar has negatively
charged from phenolic, carboxyl and hydroxyl
groups on biochar surfaces that bind H+ ions in
the soil solution, so reducing its concentration in
the soil solution and raising the soil pH value (Gul
et al., 2015). Table 3 shows that application of
coastal sediment and biochar alone or combined
did not significantly improve the content of soil
C-organic and CEC. All treatments were able to
increase the content of organic C and CEC, but
the increase was too small when compared with
those without ameliorant having C-organic
content and CEC respectively by 0.30% and
amounted to 5.37 cmol(+)/kg. This was because
of the very low content of organic C and CEC on
the soil in PIGM land (Table 2).
Application of biochar increased soil CEC
by 27.93% that was higher than that of other
treatments. This was similar to that reported by
Laghari et al. (2015), who observed that
application of 45 t biochar ha-1 slightly increased
the CEC of soil by 20% as compared to the
control in the sandy desert soil. The Ca content of
the soil applied with 30 t coastal sediment/ha + 4 t
biochar/ha (M3) was significantly higher than no
ameliorant (M0) and application of biochar
treatment (M2). This was because of the high Ca
content of the coastal sediment (9.75 cmol(+)/kg),
while biochar had only very low Ca content
(Table 1). The same phenomenon was also
observed in the content of soil Mg, which
indicated significant differences of Mg soil at M1
and M3 treatments compared to M0 and M2
treatments. Coastal sediment had Mg content of
5.82 cmol(+)/kg, whereas biochar had only 0.54
cmol(+) Mg/kg (Table 1).
The increased Ca content due to the addition
of coastal sediment was in line with the study of
Suswati et al. (2015) showing that provision of
coastal sediment raised the contents of Ca and Mg
in the soil. Table 4 shows that there were
interactions between applications of ameliorant
and semi-permeable layer on some soil chemical
properties in PIGM land. On the parameter of EC,
it appeared that all treatments were significantly
different from control (no ameliorant).
876
The effect of ameliorants on improvement of soil fertility in post gold mining land at West Kalimantan

Table 3. Effect of ameliorant on some soil chemical properties

Treatments *) Soil chemical properties
pH Organic C Ca Mg Na CEC
(%) (cmol(+)/kg)
M0 5.68 b 0.30 a 0.59 b 0.33 b 0.84 b 5.37 a
M1 6.72 a 0.56 a 1.25 a 0.64 a 0.78 b 5.95 a
M2 6.57 a 0.57 a 0.69 b 0.39 b 1.44 a 6.87 a
M3 7.03 a 0.48 a 0.96 a 0.54 a 1.17 ab 5.45 a
Description: Numbers followed by the same letters in the same column indicate no significant differences at the
Duncan test at 5% level of significance. *) M0 = without amelioration, M1 = coastal sediment at a dose of 40 t/ha,
M2 =biochar at a dose of 4 t/ha, M3 = coastal sediment at doses 30 t/ha + biochar 4 t/ha.

The increase EC of soil in the PIGM land due to
the addition coastal sediment was greater than the
semi-permeable layer. It can be seen that the
increase of soil EC caused by provision of coastal
sediment without a semi-permeable layer (S0M1)
was 16.92% less than the application of coastal
sediment with a semi-permeable layer (S1M1) of
18.91%. Suswati et al. (2015) reported that
addition of 60 t coastal sediment/ha could increase
soil EC. The soil EC due to the application of
banana peel biochar, either with a layer of semi-
permeable (S1M2) or not (S0M2) was higher than
the value of EC at control. Table 4 shows the
value of EC in the S1M2 treatments was 1217
S/cm and in the S0M2 treatment was 1138
S/cm, whereas in the control was only 1052
S/cm. The increase of soil EC after biochar
additions might be largely due to the high
contents of K, Ca, Mg and Na in the soil (Hossain
et al., 2011). The content of soil total N after
treatment showed that the effect was not
significantly different among all treatments. The
content of total N ranged from 0.31 to 0.32% and
they were all very low. This was caused by the
sandy soil texture of PIGM land, so N leaching
was very high. Thereby application of ameliorant
in the form of coastal sediment and biochar, as
well as the semi-permeable layer had not been
able to increase soil total N content. The main
nitrogen form in the agricultural field is nitrate,
which is very mobile in the soil due to the poor
absorption by soil colloidal particles because it
has a negative charge. Therefore, the N cannot be
adsorbed to cation exchange sites, so it is highly
susceptible to loss by the way of surface water
runoff (Yu et al., 2014).

Table 4. Effect of ameliorant and semi-permeable layer on some soil chemical properties
Treatments Electric Total N Base Available P Exchangeable K
Conductivity (S/cm) (%) Saturation (ppm) (cmol(+)/kg)
(%)
S0M0 1052 d 0.31 a 31.96 bc 1.02 d 0.34 d
S0M1 1230 ab 0.31 a 65.91 a 1.10 d 0.43 cd
S0M2 1138 c 0.32 a 44.58 b 1.44 bc 0.77 ab
S0M3 1174 bc 0.31 a 59.60 a 1.50 b 0.86 a
S1M0 1072 d 0.31 a 28.90 c 1.29 c 0.40 cd
S1M1 1254 a 0.31 a 39.60 bc 1.12 d 0.42 cd
S1M2 1217 ab 0.32 a 63.94 a 1.81 a 0.67 abc
S1M3 1243 a 0.31 a 73.00 a 1.58 b 0.53 bcd
Description: Numbers followed by the same letters in the same column indicate no significant differences at the
Duncan test at 5% level of significance. M0 = without amelioration, M1 = coastal sediment at a dose of 40 t/ha, M2
=biochar at a dose of 4 t/ha, M3 = coastal sediment at doses 30 t/ha + biochar 4 t/ha, S0 = without a semi-permeable
layer, S1 = semi-permeable layer as deep as 20 cm of the soil surface, semi-permeable 3 cm thick layer.

Base saturation (BS) is a parameter that indicates
the dominance of nutrients in the form of nutrient
cations. Table 4 shows the treatments using
coastal sediment (S0M1, S0M3, and S1M3) had
higher BS than without application of ameliorant
(S0M0 and S1M0). This was due to coastal
sediment had very high BS of 82.98%. According
to Suswati et al. (2014), coastal sediment
contained high alkaline cations, which increased
BS and availability of cations Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+,
and K+. Moreover, the increase of these cations
might form a ligand complex with organic acids,

Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management 877

The effect of ameliorants on improvement of soil fertility in post gold mining land at West Kalimantan
and therefore improved soil fertility (Husen et al.,
2013). Data presented in Table 4 show that the
content of available P in the treatment of semi-
permeable layer (S1) was higher than the
treatment without semi-permeable layer (S0). In
the treatment without a semi-permeable layer,
each treatment of ameliorant (M0, M1, M2 and
M3) had available P of 1.02, 1.10, 1.44 and 1.50
ppm, while the treatment with a semi-permeable
layer each had available of 1.29, 1.12, 181 and
1.58 ppm. This indicates that semi-permeable
layer can lower P loss due to leaching. The semi-
permeable layer is a layer that is capable of
decreasing the flow rate of water in the sandy soil,
so water will accumulate on top of the semi-
permeable layer. Inhibition of water flow will
250
M0
Plant height (cm)
200
M2
150
100
50
0
2 3
Period of observation (weeks)
Figure 1. The effect of type of ameliorant to plant height of sorghum.
This may reflect the improved soil chemical
properties, indeed a more available nutrients with
30 t coastal sediment/ha + 4 t biochar/ha had been
supplied to sorghum growth. Suswati et al. (2014)
reported that application of 40 t coastal
sediment/ha could increase plant height of maize.
Meanwhile biochar amendment at rates of 15 and
22 t/ha raised sorghum growth in sandy desert soil
(Laghari et al., 2015).
The stem diameter was higher with addition
of the coastal sediment and biochar mixture (M3)
than other treatments (Figure 2). This treatment
had highest stem diameter of 31 mm at 7 weeks
observation period. The stem diameter was
significantly different without application of
ameliorant at 6 and 7 weeks. This indicates that
application of 30 t coastal sediment/ha + 4 t
biochar/ha were able to improve the condition of
soil fertility in the PIGM land, so it could improve
plant growth which was reflected in the stem
diameter. In this study, application of 30 t coastal
Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management
reduce leaching of P nutrient because P easily
migrates along the water that dissolves it.
Effect of ameliorant and semi-permeable layer
on sorghum growth at PIGM land
Ameliorant influenced the improvement of soil
properties (Tables 3 and 4). Improvement of soil
properties stimulated the growth of plants that
could be observed on the parameters of plant
height and stem diameter. Effect of ameliorant on
plant height can be seen in Figure 1. Application
of 30 t coastal sediment/ha+ 4 t biochar/ha (M3)
resulted in higher plant height than other
treatments on all the observation periods. Even on
the observation of the 7th weeks of the treatment
looked significantly different between the control
and M3 treatment.
M1
M3
4 5 6 7
sediment/ha and 4 biochar/ ha signicantly
improved sorghum growth. The possible
explanation of the improved plant growth is that
application of coastal sediment and biochar plant
nutrients in the soil (P, K, Ca and Mg) and also
improved soil EC, BS, pH (Tables 1 and 2).
According to Alburquerque et al. (2014), biochar
has high content of essential plant nutrients,
hence, it raises supplied plant nutrients in soil and
improved crop yield. In a study conducted by
Schulz and Glaser (2012), biochar addition that
increased plant growth in sandy soils was
observed when biochar was combined with
organic fertilizer. Suswati et al. (2014) reported
the highest plant growth of maize under
application of 40 t/ha of coastal sediment and 1.5
t/ha of salted fish waste. Therefore, it can be
concluded that the addition of coastal sediment
and biochar enhanced sorghum growth in PIGM
land.
878
The effect of ameliorants on improvement of soil fertility in post gold mining land at West Kalimantan
35
M0
Stem diameter (mm)
30
M2
25
20
15
10
5
0
2 3
Period of observation (weeks)
Figure 2. The effect of type of ameliorant to stem diameter of sorghum
Conclusion
Application of 30 t coastal sediment/ha + 4 t
biochar/ha was able to improve some properties of
the soil (pH, EC, and BS), and increase the
nutrient contents of Ca and Mg. The combination
of coastal sediment and biochar from banana peels
can complement each other to improve some
properties of soil so as to increase plant height and
stem diameter of sorghum.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the Dirjen DIKTI on funding
granted through INSINAS Grant in 2016, as well as the
Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture, Tanjungpura
University and who has given permission and support
the research.
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880
JOURNAL OF DEGRADED AND MINING LANDS MANAGEMENT
ISSN: 2339-076X (p); 2502-2458 (e), Volume 4, Number 4 (July 2017): 881-889
DOI:10.15243/jdmlm.2017.044.881

Research Article

Residual effect of potassium fertilizer and biochar on growth and yield

of maize in the second season
Widowati*, Astutik, Astri Sumiati, Wahyu Fikrinda
Faculty of Agriculture, Tribhuwana Tunggadewi University, Jl. Telagawarna, Malang 65144, Indonesia
*corresponding author:widwidowati@gmail.com
Received 18 April 2017, Accepted 20 May 2017

Abstract : Application of biochar can increase availability of plant nutrients and yield. A field
experiment was conducted on anInceptisol with aim to determineresidual potassium fertilizer and biochar
application on growth and yield of maize in the second season. A randomized block design was used with
three replication. The treaments were residual application of potassium and biochar that consisted of
biochar only (30 t/ha), and biochar plus several levels of potassium apllication (0, 50, 100, 150 and 200
kg/ha), included application of 200 kg/ha potassium without biochar. Basal fertilizersapplied in the first
season were 90 kg N/ha and 100 kg P205, and in the second season was 90 kg N/ha. The results showed
that residual biochar alone or combined with different levels of potassium application increased yield of
maize. Residual biochar increased avalilabilty of N, P, K, Ca, and Na in the soil.
Keywords : biochar, maize, potassium, residual, yield
To cite this article: Widowati, Astutik, Sumiati, A. and Fikrinda, W. 2017. Residual effect of potassium fertilizer and
biochar on growth and yield of maize in the second season. J. Degrade. Min. Land Manage. 4(4): 881-889, DOI:
10.15243/jdmlm.2017.044.881.

Introduction capacity to buy organic fertilizers. Plant nutrient

Farm intensification technology applied in the
farm without addition oforganic matters will
decrease C-organic content in the soil.
Thiscondition will reduce efficiency of fertlizer
application. Application of manure and organic
fertilizer can increase soil fertility and fertilizer
efficieny. In the hot tropical conditions,
decomposation and mineralitation of organic
matter run very fast and thiswill cause increasing
CO2emition and global warming (Bol et al, 2000),
and releasing CO2 in the atmosfir (Fearnside,
2000). Low organic matter content also causeslow
cation exchange capacity (CEC) and low
availability of plant nutrients. Efficiency of
anorganic fertilizer is also low, especially in the
tropic where leaching is important aspect for
mobile nutrients (Brady and Well, 2008).
In Inceptisols, potassium is usually not
available because it is fixed by soil minerals.
Problems related to availability of plant nutrients
become worse because farmer donot have
availability becomes one of constraint to
increasing plant production. In general, soil plant
nutrient content can be increased by addition of
ferlitilizers, but nutrient content will be decrased
by plant absortion, volatization, leaching and
fixation of by soil colloid. One of possible
strategies to increase fertilizer efficiency is by
application of combined organic and organic
fertilizers or biochar. Lehmann et al. (2003)
reported that biochar can maintaine nutrient
content in the fertilizer to prevent leaching. On the
other hand, Widowati et al,. (2012) stated that
biochar can reduce N fertilizer application up to
70%. This is because biochar can manage N
release by Urea fertilizer in the form of NH4
(Widowati et al., 2011). Similar results obtained
from a greenhouse experiment also showed that
the increase ofpotassium fertilizer did not
increaseleaching of potassium in 30-60 days after
sowing (Widowati et al., 2012).
Biochar is organic charcol product of
pyrolysis (convertion of thermo condition without

www.jdmlm.ub.ac.id 881
Residual effect of potassium fertilizer and biochar on growth and yield of maize in the second season
oxygen). Biochar can be used is an alternatif
produced energy by returning carbon and nutrient
to the soil (Laird, 2008). Biochar from pyrolysis is
type of carbon amorf consisting of many carbon
symbiosis and ash (Chun et al., 2004). During
process of pyrolysis, condition of temperature and
time will affect characteristics of biochar (Antal
and Gronil, 2003). At low temperatures (<500C),
raw material composition has a major influence
on biochar characteristics which affecting
agriculture such as cation exchange capacity and
nutrient content (Gaskin et al., 2008). Several
research results showed that biochar increased
growth and yield of maize (Major et al., 2010),
soybean (Tagoe et al., 2008), cowpea (Glaser et
al., 2002), and rice (Steiner et al., 2007).
Concentrations of carbon at low temperatures
range from 380 g/kg to poultry waste biochar
(Chan et al., 2008), 692 g/kg for wheat stalk
(Chun et al., 2004) and 790 g/kg for biochar Chip
Pine (Gaskin et al., 2008). Nitrogen
concentrations in biochar range from 1.4 g/kg
(pine), 19 g/kg (groundnut), 40 g/ kg (poultry
waste) (Chan et al., 2007). Low concentrations of
P and K were found in biochar of pine of 0.089
and 0.659 g/kg respectively, and biochar of
chicken manure of 33.6 and 45.6 g/kg (Gaskin et
al., 2008). Concentrations of P and K in biochar
of organic waste product were 0.72% and 0.93%,
respectively (Widowati et al., 2011).
Several studies showed that biochar
increased nutrient retention, especially Nitrogen
content in tropical areas (Lehmann et al., 2003;
Steiner et al., 2008). When the process of nutrient
loss due to leaching can be reduced this means
that there is still nutrient retention in the soil as a
residue that can be utilized for the next crop.
Nutrient residue in soil after harvest can reflect
nutrient availability status in low, moderate, high,
and very high category. Such conditions will
determine whether to add nutrients through
fertilization. The small amount or amount of
added fertilizer will affect the amount of nutrients
absorbed and left behind as nutrient residues
available in the soil. Widowati et al. (2014)
showed that the sole application of biochar
increased maize production by 14% compared
sole application of KCl fertilizer.
In contrast, application of biochar and 75%
of dosage of KCl fertilizer increased maize
production by 29%. Biochar residues and
increased doses of potassium fertilizer will have
the same effect on crop yields.This asumption is
supported by Mayor et al. (2010) who reported
that yield of maize did not increase in the first
season, but it increased in the second season after
applicationof biochar. Information on this aspect
is vey limited, and therefore, the objective of this
Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management
experiment was to determine the residual effect of
potassium fertilizer and biochar on growth and
yield of maize in the second season.
Materials and Methods
A field experiment was conducted from
September 2012 to February 2013 on an
Inceptisol of Tunggulwulung village, Lowokwaru
sub district of Malang City. Biochar was made
from organic waste by pyrolysis method. The
Pertiwi-3 maize cultivar used in the second
planting was planted in September 2012. All
treatments were laid in a randomized block design
with three replications. In the first planting, each
treatment was supplied with urea fertlizer with a
dosage of 90 kg N/ha.
The urea Fertilizer was applied twice (1/3 of
dose at 6 days after planting and 2/3 of dose used
at four weeks after planting). Phosphate fertilizer
was applied at 6 days after planting. Potassium
fertilizer that was applied at 1 and 4 weeks after
planting consisted of B0K200 (200 kg KCl/ha),
B30KO (biochar, without KCl), B30K50 (biochar
+ 50 kg KCl/ha), B30K100 (biochar + 100 kg
KCl/ha), B30K150 (biochar + 150 kg KCl/ha),
and B30K200 (biochar + 200 kg KCl/ha). Basal
fertilizer supplied for the second season was 90 kg
Urea/ha without P and K fertilizers. Total number
of plots were 21 with each of 3 m x 4 m size.
Maintenance of the experiment was done by
weeding twice, and irigation twice per-week.
Plant spacing was 80 x 25 cm, 1 seed per-hole and
total number of plant population was 50.0000/ha.
Soil samples were collected after harvest in the
first and second seasons, and analyzed for organic
content (Walkley and Balck), N (Kjedahl),
availability of P (Bray 1), potassium availability
(NH40AC 1 N pH 7), total K (HCl 25%), Ca, Mg
and Na. There were five plant samples obeserved
for plant height, stem diameter, leaf area index,
stem dry matter, leaf, plant dry matter, length and
diameter of ear, seed dry weight, potassium
content in the leaf (70 days), and in the seed after
harvest (130 days), and K absorbtion. Plant dry
matter was observed by drying the plant fresh
material in an oven with tempereture of 70 oC for
48 hours. Uptake of N, P, and K by maize crop
was calculated from plant dry weight and and N,
P, and K contents. Data obtained were analyzed
usingSPSS version 13.00.
Results and Discussion
Crop growth
Residual biochar of 30 t/ha with and without
addition of pottasium fertilizer application
882
Residual effect of potassium fertilizer and biochar on growth and yield of maize in the second season

produced the highest plant height. On the other
hand, the residual biochar that was followed by
the increase dosage of potassium application from
50 kg up to 200 kg/ha reduced plant height
significantly (Table 1). Application of 200 kg
KCl/ha decreased plant heightabout 28.40 cm
compared with application of 50 kg KCl/ha.
Residual biochar treatment alone increased plant
height, stem diameter, and leaf size, although the
stem diameter was not significantly different with
that of residual biochar added with potassium
application treatment. Biochar as a soil
amandement caused better root development and
higher drymatter production than without biochar
and only 200 kg KCl/ha (Table 2) and as high as
seed yield of maize (Table 4). Application of
potassium fertilizer did not increase crop growth
and grain yield of maize (Table 4).
Dry matter production showed similar trend
with stem diameter. Residual biochar with or
withiout addition of potassium fertilizer
application showed higher dry matters of leaf,
stem, and total biomass production compared with
no biochar added 200 kg KCl/ha (Table 2). Total
dry matter production is production of drymatter
during plant growth. In the short period, fertilizer
that isadded to biochar can increase plant growth
(Lehmann et al., 2003).

Table 1. Plant height, Stem diameter, and Leaf size at 70 days after planting
Treatment Plant height (cm) Stem diameter (cm) Leaf size (cm2)
200 kg KCl/ha 233.82 b 2.46 a 5493.22 a
Biochar 252.83 c 3.02 b 6712.51 b
Biochar + 50 kg KCl/ha 250.69 c 2.80 b 6397.63 b
Biochar + 100 kg KCl/ha 230.18 ab 2.93 b 6581.94 b
Biochar + 150 kg KCl/ha 227.67 ab 2.87 b 6601.77 b
Biochar + 200 kg KCl/ha 222.29 a 2.89 b 6310.49 b
LSD 0.05 10.99 0.20 487.68
Remarks: within each column, mean values followed by the same letters do not differ significantly at LSD 0.05.

Table 2. Drymatter of leaf, stem,and total biomass production of maize crop at 70 days after planting
Treatment Leaf dry matter Stem dry matter Total biomass production
(t/ha) (t/ha) (t/ha)
200 kg KCl/ha 1.90 a 2.81 a 4.71 a
Biochar 2.69 cd 4.06 b 6.75 b
Biochar + 50 kg KCl/ha 2.42 b 4.00 b 6.42 b
Biochar + 100 kg KCl/ha 2.78 d 3.92 b 6.70 b
Biochar + 150 kg KCl/ha 2.55 bcd 3.67 b 6.22 b
Biochar + 200 kg KCl/ha 2.47 bc 3.79 b 6.27 b
LSD 0.05 0.25 0.43 0.58
Remarks: within each column, mean values followed by the same letters do not differ significantly at LSD 0.05.

Nutrient content and uptake of N, P, K K fertilizer and K fertilizer with biochar gave
same affect on level of N and P in the leave or P
Application of biochar supplied enough nutrients
in the grain (Table 3). Residual biochar increased
for the second crop especially P and K. It is
P and K contents in grain (Figures 2 and 3).
showed that the crop did not
Nutrient uptake by crop depends upon the
experiencedefficiency of nutrients (Table 3). Total
availability of the nutrient in the soil. It is showed
macronutrients of N (0.17-0.26%), P2O5 (60-185
that combination of residual biochar and K
mg/kg) and K2O (0.5-0.9 me/100g) available in
feritlizer decreased absorbtion of Potassium
the soil after harvest the first season would
(Figure 3).
beavailable for the second crop. Residual effect of

Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management 883

Residual effect of potassium fertilizer and biochar on growth and yield of maize in the second season

Table 3. Content of N, P, K in the leaf (70 days after sowing) and grain of maize (130 days after sowing)
Treatment Nitrogen content (%) P content (%) K content (%)
Leaf Grain Leaf Grain Leaf Grain
200 kg KCl/ha 3.22 a 1.43 a 0.29 a 0.16 a 0.08 a 0.13 ab
Biochar 3.37 a 1.77 b 0.31 a 0.16 a 0.14 bc 0.12 a
Biochar + 50 kg KCl/ha 3.24 a 2.04 b 0.28 a 0.20 a 0.13 b 0.16 bc
Biochar + 100 kg KCl/ha 3.24 a 2.01 b 0.28 a 0.18 a 0.13 bc 0.13 a
Biochar + 150 kg KCl/ha 3.26 a 2.00 b 0.29 a 0.16 a 0.13 b 0.13 a
Biochar + 200 kg KCl/ha 3.32 a 1.83 b 0.30 a 0.20 a 0.16 c 0.17 c
LSD 0.05 0.26 0.33 0.04 0.08 0.03 0.03
Remarks: within each column, mean values followed by the same letters do not differ significantly at LSD 0.05.

180 c bc bc
160
bc
Uptake of N in seeds (kg/ha)

140 b
120
100 a

80
60
40
20
0
200 kg Biochar Biochar + Biochar + Biochar + Biochar +
KCl/ha 50 kg 100 kg 150 kg 200 kg
KCl/ha KCl/ha KCl/ha KCl/ha
Treatment
Figure 1. Nitrogen uptake in the grain of maize at harvest

18
a a
Uptake of P in seeds (kg/ha)

16
a
14
a
12 a
a
10
8
6
4
2
0
200 kg Biochar Biochar Biochar Biochar Biochar
KCl/ha + 50 kg + 100 kg + 150 kg + 200 kg
KCl/ha KCl/ha KCl/ha KCl/ha
Treatment

Figure 2. Phosphorus uptake in the grain of maize at harvest

Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management 884

Residual effect of potassium fertilizer and biochar on growth and yield of maize in the second season
16
14
Uptake of K in Seeds (kg/ha)
12
10 a a
8
0
200 kg
KCl/ha
Figure 3. Potassium uptake in the grain of maize at harvest
Plant yield and carbohydrate content in
maize grains
Even without the addition of P and K fertilizers,
plant growth and yield were not affected by the
availability of nutrients P and K from the first
maize harvest residues.It is assumed that the
available nutrients from the first season were still
enough to support crop growth during the second
season (Table 4). This results showed that residual
biochar gave the good effect for availability of P
and K nutrients, and for growth and yield.
Residual biochar alone or combined with
potassium increased ear size, earl length, grain
size (1000 g), grain yield/plant, and grain yield
(t/ha). The increase of grain yield from residual
biochar alone was lower (11%) compared with
that of residual biochar combined with Potassium
fertilizer (18-20%). In the first season, biochar did
not increase yield significantly. Residual biochar
gave high signifantly effect to the crop by time to
time as reported by by Steiner et al. (2007) and
Major et al. (2010).
Residual biochar with potassium in different
dosage gave the same effect to yield component
and grain yield of maize (Table 5). Biochar
applications independently showed the same
maize yield when biochar was combined with
potassium fertilizer at various doses. Phosphate
and potassium combination with biochar gave the
effect of residual for the second cop. This was due
to the ability of biochar to maintain retention of
nutrient in the soil. In fact, there is more than 90%
Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management
c
bc
ab a
Biochar Biochar + Biochar + Biochar + Biochar +
50 kg 100 kg 150 kg 200 kg
KCl/ha KCl/ha KCl/ha KCl/ha
Treatment
of ash in biochar that that is available for the crop
(Glaser et al., 2002). The data from this
experiment showed that biochar did not only act
as a soil conditioner but also increased cation
exchange capacity. Similar results were also
reported by Liang et al. (2008). Application of
biochar that consists of ash increasescation K, Ca,
Mg in the soil (Glaser et al., 2001a). Residual
biochar increased soil organic content (Table 6).
The increase of soil oganic matter in the soil is
always related with active decomposition of
organic matter (Wilhelm et al., 2004). In the
degraded Oxisol in Kenya, Kimetu et al. (2008)
reported that maize production increased twice
after three repeated applications of biochar of 7
t/ha during two years.
After application of biochar in the first
season, availability of N, P, K, Ca and Mg
increased by 39-53%, 179-208%, 69-89%, 61-
70%, and 1-22%, respectively (Widowati et al.,
2014). This condition approved hypothesis that
grain yield of maize increased during the second
season although without addition of P and K
fertilizers.Grain yield of maize in the first season
was lower (5.46-7.02 t/ha) compared with that in
the second season (Table 5). This indicated that
biochar gave positif effect to the crop in the
second season. Other data showed that total N and
availabilty of phosphate were higher than without
biochar. Widowati et al. (2012) pointed out that
biochar reduced leaching process of potassium
while application of biochar combined with KCl
fertilizer did not increase K leaching. Effect of
885
Residual effect of potassium fertilizer and biochar on growth and yield of maize in the second season

residual potassium fertilizer independently and in the lowest carbohydrate content. The highest
potassium fertilizer with biochar highly carbohydrate content was observed for application
significant in carbohydratecontent in the grain of biochar combined with 150 kg K/ha (Figure 4).
seed maize. Application of biochar alone resulted

Table 4. Yield and yield component of maize crop in the second season
Treatment Ear Diameter Weight Ear dry Grain yield Grain
length of ear of 1000 weight per-plant yield (g)
(cm) (cm) grains (g) (g) (g)
200 kg KCl/ha 17.6 a 5.43 a 302.9 a 21.63 a 122.52 a 6.46 a
Biochar 20.3 b 5.77 b 338.9 b 32.22 b 141.38 b 7.18 b
Biochar + 50 kg KCl/ha 19.9 b 5.82 c 346.7 b 30.29 b 155.46 b 7.77 b
Biochar + 100 kg KCl/ha 19.7 b 5.78 c 348.4 b 32.50 b 154.47 b 7.72 b
Biochar + 150 kg KCl/ha 19.7 b 5.81 c 359.0 b 33.75 b 151.97 b 7.60 b
Biochar + 200 kg KCl/ha 19.2 b 5.97 c 325.2 b 30.01 b 154.26 b 7.71 b
LSD 0.05 1,16 0.20 44.89 6.78 19.49 0.82
Remarks: within each column, mean values followed by the same letters do not differ significantly at LSD 0.05.

60

d e
Carbohydrate content (%)

50 c
c b
40

30
a
20

10

0
200 kg Biochar Biochar + Biochar + Biochar + Biochar +
KCl/ha 50 kg 100 kg 150 kg 200 kg
KCl/ha KCl/ha KCl/ha KCl/ha
Treatment

Figure 4. Carbohydrate content in the grain of maize on harvest

Availability of nutrients in the soil after harvest (2005). Biochar could increse soil organic matter
in the first and second seasons in the soil during the first and second seasons.
Application of N, P and K fertilizers with biochar
Residual effect of potassium fertilizer combined
gave higher availability of nutrients compared
with biochar increased K, Ca, Mg and Na cations
with no biochar application. This was one of the
in the soil because of the increase of organic
reasons why grain yield in the second season (6.5-
content in the soil (Table 5). Similar results were
7.8 t/ha) was higher than that in the first season
also found by Major et al. (2010), Rondon et al.
(5.5-7.0 t/ha).
(2007), Steiner et al. (2007), and Topoliantz et al.

Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management 886

Residual effect of potassium fertilizer and biochar on growth and yield of maize in the second season

Table 5.Nutrient availability in the soil before sowing, after first season and after second season
Treatment Total N (%) P (mg/kg) K+ (me/ 100 g) Total K (%) Soil C organic (%)
BT FS SS BT FS SS BT FS SS BT FS SS BT FS SS
200 kg
KCl/ha 0.14 a 0.17 a 0.11 a 24.38 a 59.97 a 41.84 a 0.25 a 0.46 a 0.35 a 30.91 a 50.20 ab 284.01 b 1.46 a 1.35 a 1.93 a
Biochar 0.14 a 0.24 c 0.17 c 24.38 a 167.42 b 48.01 ab 0.25 a 0.88 c 1.03 c 30.91 a 122.86 c 234.57 a 1.46 a 1.86 b 2.30 b
Biochar + 50
kg KCl/ha 0.14 a 0.26 c 0.16 bc 24.38 a 173.25 b 91.87 e 0.25 a 0.82 c 0.87 b 30.91 a 142.36 c 526.12 d 1.46 a 1.88 b 2.27 b
Biochar +
100 kg
KCl/ha 0.14 a 0.24 c 0.20 d 24.38 a 180.51 b 61.08 c 0.25 a 0.78 bc 1.25 d 30.91 a 63.25 b 891.81 e 1.46 a 1.87 b 2.28 b
Biochar +
150 kg
KCl/ha 0.14 a 0.24 c 0.16 b 24.38 a 183.31 b 71.04 d 0.25 a 0.83 c 0.99 c 30.91 a 57.12 ab 355.85 c 1.46 a 1.87 b 2.26 b
Biochar +
200 kg
KCl/ha 0.14 a 0.23 b 0.16 b 24.38 a 184.62 b 51.63 b 0.25 a 0.82 c 1.17 d 30.91 a 54.50 ab 334.35 c 1.46 a 1.88 b 2.27 b
LSD 0.05 ns 0.01 0.01 ns 27.23 8.99 ns 0.52 0.13 ns 40.76 27.99 ns 0.15 0.16
Remarks: within each column, mean values followed by the same letters do not differ significantly at LSD 0.05.
BT = before treatment, FS = first season, SS = second season

Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management 887

Residual effect of potassium fertilizer and biochar on growth and yield of maize in the second season

Table 6. Availability Ca and Mg in the soil after harvest first season and second season
Treatment Ca2+(me/100 g) Mg2+(me/100 g) Na+ (me/100 g)
BT FS SS BT FS SS SS
200 kg KCl/ha 4.49 17.08 a 15.94 a 3.81 a 1.27 3.26 c 0.82 a
Biochar 4.49 a 27.44 bc 22.36 cd 3.82 a 1.27 3.25 c 0.99 b
Biochar + 50 kg KCl/ha 4.50 a 29.08 c 21.82 bc 3.81 a 1.28 3.14 bc 1.19 cd
Biochar + 100 kg KCl/ha 4.50 a 29.06 c 23.29 d 3.81 a 1.55 2.77 b 1.25 d
Biochar + 150 kg KCl/ha 4.48 a 27.57 c 22.02 bc 3.82 a 1.52 4.43 d 1.36 e
Biochar + 200 kg KCl/ha 4.49 a 27.44 bc 21.18 b 3.81 a 1.5 1.99 a 1.15 c
LSD 0.05 ns 5.69 1.11 ns 1.00 0.41 0.06
Remarks: within each column, mean values followed by the same letters do not differ significantly at LSD 0.05. BT =
before treatment, FS = first season, SS = second season

Conclusion pyrolysis conditions on biochar for agricultural use.

Residual effect of potassium fertilizer combined
with biochar supported availability of nutrients for
maize crop in the second season.The other side,
residual effect of biochar increased availabilty of
N, P, K, Ca and Na nutrients in the soil. Residual
effect of biochar independently or combined with
potassium fertilizer application increased yield of
maize crop in the second season.
Acknowlegment
The authors thank to the Directorate General of Higher
Education, Ministry of Research, Technology and
Higher Education of Indonesia for financial support to
conduct this study through competitive research grant
2013.
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Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management 888

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Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management 890

JOURNAL OF DEGRADED AND MINING LANDS MANAGEMENT
ISSN: 2339-076X (p); 2502-2458 (e), Volume 4, Number 4 (July 2017): 891-897
DOI:10.15243/jdmlm.2017.044.891

Research Article

Dry spell length analysis for crop production using Markov-Chain

model in Eastern Hararghe, Ethiopia
Eba Muluneh Sorecha* , Birhanu Bayissa
School of Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences, Haramaya University, P.O.Box
138, Dire Dawa, Ethiopia
*
corresponding author: ebamule1@gmail.com
Received 21 April 2017, Accepted 20 May 2017

Abstract: The information on the length of dry spells could be used for deciding a particular crop or
variety, supplementary irrigation water demand and for others agricultural activities. The study was
conducted in three districts: Babile, Haramaya and Kersa, eastern Hararghe, Ethiopia. The aim of the
study was to analyze dry spell lengths and its implications on crop production in eastern Hararghe, so as
to minimize unexpected damage due to long dry spells and to have effective and efficient planning for
farming communities.Thirty years of rainfall data for each district were collected form National
Meteorological Agency of Ethiopia. Data quality control has been done prior to analysis. Markov-Chain
model were employed to analyze the collected data. The result of the study revealed that dry spells were
highly hitting Babile district comparing to the other two districts. The probability of dry spell lengths of 5
and 7 days in Babile district was found to be about 99 and 80%, respectively.Whereas, in Haramaya
district, the probability of dry spell length of 5 days was found to be 80% during 181(Days of the Year)
DOY, then it falls to below 50 % by 221DOY. Moreover, the probability of the occurrences of dry spells
of 10, 15, and 20 days were below 5% in Haramaya district during the main rainy season. The study also
investigated that in Kersa district, the probability of occurrences of the dry spell lengths of 5, 7, 10, 15,
and 20 days were estimated to fall below 30%, showing that the area was better in crop production as
compared to the rest districts. The annual rainfalls in all the districts were decreasing as per the trend line
and variable in all the districts: Babile, Haramaya and Kersa districts, having the CV values of, 41, 34 and
31%, respectively.Information regarding dry spell length analysis has to be well understoodat grass root
levels to ensure food security via lifesaving irrigation schemes or any other options.
Keywords: crop production, dry spells, Ethiopia, Markov-chain model
To cite this article: Sorecha, E.M. and Bayissa, B. 2017. Dry spell length analysis for crop production using
Markov-Chain model in Eastern Hararghe, Ethiopia. J. Degrade. Min. Land Manage. 4(4): 891-897, DOI:
10.15243/jdmlm.2017.044.891

Introduction an increasing trend of average air temperature. As

In a predominantly agricultural system, natural
rainfall is the main source of water for agricultural
sector. Absence of rainfall or minimal rainfall
results in drought. Drought is a common agenda
that takes place nearly every year in many areas of
the world, particularly, in developing countries.
Dry spell is a period where the weather has been
dry, for an abnormally long time, shorter than and
not as severe as a drought (Wilhite and Glantz,
1985). Findings on earths global climate indicate
a result, the vegetation period is expected to
become shorter and shorter with irregular
distribution of rainfall (IPCC, 2008). It has been
noted that the long dry spells incur heavy costs to
the affected societies. In tropics and subtropics,
the success or failure of the crops is highly related
with the occurrences of dry spells. For achieving
maximum benefits from dry land agriculture the
knowledge of distribution of dry spells within a
year is useful. Dry spells affect not only crop

www.jdmlm.ub.ac.id 891
Dry spell length analysis for crop production using Markov-Chain model in Eastern Hararghe, Ethiopia
production it could also stricken other sectors like
fisheries, health, electricity etc. whichin turn
cause a crisis to the economy of a given country
(Jayawardene, 2005). The information on the
length of dry spells could be used for deciding a
particular crop or variety, supplementary
irrigation water demand (Mathlouthi and Lebdi,
2008), breeding varieties of various maturity
durations, field operations in agriculture in a
specific location (Sivakumar, 1992; Taley and
Dalvi, 1991; Sharma, 1996).
Crop growth performs well with uniformly
spread light rains than with a few heavy rains
interrupted by dry periods. In cropping calendar
of plants, the timing of breaks in rainfall (dry
spells) is critical to crop viability than total
seasonal rainfall (Usman and Reason, 2004).
Moreover, Simane and Struick (1993) reported
that the amount of rainfall its distribution in a
given season is critical for crop production.
Uneven distribution of rainfall could lead crops to
different degrees of dry spells without significant
reductions in total rainfall (Barron et al., 2003). A
number of studies have been conducted in
Ethiopia on climate characterization such as
number of rainy days, length of growing period,
onset and offset of seasonal and annual rainfall.
Few of them highlighted the heavy losses in major
crop production in the country due to prolonged
dry spells and the importance of studying the
Table 1. Study site information
Station Latitude Longitude Altitude
name (0) (0) (m)
Babile 9.21 42.33 1518
Haramaya 9.16 41.97 1980
Kersa 9.32 41.92 2200
Data collection and Quality Control
A baseline of thirty four years of daily rainfall
data for each districts were collected from
National Meteorological Agency of Ethiopia
(NMA). Then prior to any analysis the data were
subjected for its quality using the cumulative
deviation test (Sahin and Kerem, 2010), common
in detecting for climatologically time series data
(Sahin and Kerem, 2010; Kang and Yusof, 2012).
Research approach
A Markov-chain model is useful for analyzing
random events whose likelihood depends on what
happened last (Gabriel and Neumann, 1957).
Time series dry spells depends on what happened
Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management
temporal and spatial variability of dry spells
(Seleshi and Zanke, 2004; Seleshi and Camberlin,
2006; Hadgu, et al., 2013). However, nothing has
been done so far in eastern Hararghe in regarding
with either climate characterization or dry spell
analysis. Dry spell lengthscould be determined
using Markov-chain model (Barron, 2004).The
Markov chain probability model for the analysis
of wet spells and dry spells was first introduced
by Gabriel and Neumann (1957) using 27 years
(1923 -1950) of rainfall data from November to
April at Tel Aviv in Israel considering the
threshold of 0.1 mm (Gabriel and Neumann,
1957). The results were validated using chi square
tests. Since then the Markov process models have
been used extensively by many authors
throughout the world.
Therefore, this study aims to analyze dry
spell lengths and its implications on crop
production in eastern Hararghe, so as to minimize
unexpected damage due to long dry spells and to
have effective and efficient planning for farming
communities.
Materials and Methods
Description of the study area
The study was conducted in Babile, Haramaya,
and Kersa districts of Eastern Hararghe Zone,
Ethiopia (Table 1).
Geographic Average Data
classification temperature (0C) available
Lowland 26.50 1980-2013
Highland 18.11 1980-2013
Highland 18.07 1980-2013
in the past, and Markov process models can be
used to study properties of dry spells. A stochastic
process, whose state at time t is YT (t > 0), such
that the value of Ys(s<t) does not depend on the
values of Yu (u<s) then the process is said to be
Markov process (Medhi, 2009).
That is,
= = , = . . =
= ( = = )
It indicates that the probability of its having state
Y at time t+h, conditioned on having the particular
state Yt+hat time t, is equal to the conditional
probability of its having that same state Y but
892
Dry spell length analysis for crop production using Markov-Chain model in Eastern Hararghe, Ethiopia
conditioned on its value for all previous times
before t. This captures the idea that its future state
is independent of its past states, but depends only
on the immediate past. In dry spell analysis as a
day is classified either wet state or dry state
depending on the rainfall amount of a day,
Markov process can be applied. The order one
(order 1) process assumes that the present state
(wet or dry) depends only on the condition of the
previous state being wet or dry. The transition
matrix of the Markov model of order 1 for two
state (D=0 for the dry state and W=0 for the wet
state) is given by:
Where Pij= probability of the present day state i
(i=0 or 1) given that previous state is j (j=0 or 1).
Thus, using Geometric distribution the probability
of a dry spell lasting exactly n days will be given
by the following formula;
= = (1 )
Where p00 is the probability of a dry day occurring
after a dry dayP01is the probability of a wet day
occurring after a dry day.
sp5
1,2
Probability of dry spells
1
0,8
0,6
0,4
0,2
0
1 21 41 61 81 101 121 141 161 181 201 221 241 261 281 301 321 341 361
Figure 1.Markov-Chain model output of dry spells for Babile district
According to Barron (2004), Markov model is
capable to analyze the agricultural dry spell
lengths and respective risks. He reported that the
probabilities of agricultural dry spell exceeding 10
days in East Africa varied from 20% to 70% or
more depending on onset of rainy season. In
general, this implies that growing crops in the
district was under high probability of risks, given
Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management
In this study, probabilities of a dry spell greater
than a particular length based on the condition of
the previous days (that is, the probabilities of dry
spell followed by dry season and that of followed
by wet season) were computed. The probabilities
of the dry spell lengths exceeding 5, 7, 10, 15 and
20 days were computed using Markov model of
order two under the assumption of binomial error
structure (Abeysekera et al.,1983). For the study,
rainfall data from 1980-2013of all districts:
Babile, Haramaya and Kersa collected were used.
Results and Discussion
The results of the study revealed that dry spell
lengths of the considered days: (sp5) 5 days, (sp7)
7 days, (sp10) 10 days, (sp15) 15 days and (sp20)
20 days varies from place to place over the study
areas of Babile, Haramaya and Kersa districts.In
line with this, the impacts caused due to the dry
spell lengths also varies. The challenges of dry
spell were so much over Babile district as
compared to other two districts. Even during the
main rainy season of Ethiopia: June, July, August
and September (JJAS), the probability of dry spell
length of 5 days was about 99%. The probability
of dry spell length of a week was also more than
80%. On the other hand, the probability of dry
spell length of 20 days was below 20% (Figure 1).
sp7 sp10 sp15 sp20
Days of the year (DOY)
the harsh climatic condition, very high rainfall
variability, CV value of 41% (Table 2). The study
also depicts that the annual rainfall in the districts
was decreasing from time to time as per the trend
line indicates (Figure 2). Poverty driven by
drought was hitting the farming communities in
this area and food aids were given almost every
year over the past three decades.
893
Dry spell length analysis for crop production using Markov-Chain model in Eastern Hararghe, Ethiopia

Table 2. Simple descriptive statistics of rainfall feature over the period 1980-2013
Station name Mean Minimum Maximum SD CV
Babile 404 174 819 164 41
Haramaya 712 309 1200 245 34
Kersa 760 462 1363 247 31

Annual RF Linear (Annual RF)

1000 y = -3,486x + 464,6
Annual rainfall(mm)

800 R = 0,044
600
400
200
0

years

Figure 2. Annual rainfall distribution of Babile for the period 1980-2013

On the other hand, in Haramaya district the
probability of dry spell length of 5 days was found
to be 80% during 181DOY (1st decade of June),
then it declined to below 50 % by 221DOY (3rd
decade of July) (Figure 3). Beginning from 2021
DOY, the probability that the area faced dry spell
length of 5 days had been increased up to 100%
by 301DOY (3rd decade of September). It has
been also clarified that in Haramaya district, the
probability of dry spell lengths of 7 days or a
week has been reached about 20% in July.
However, the probability of the occurrences of 10
days, 15 days, and 20 days were fall below 5%
during the main rainy season of the area, JJAS.
This is the critical time for planting crops. Thus,
the crops in the area might be influenced due to
the high occurrences of the dry spell lengths of 5
days than any other dry spell lengths occurrences.

sp5 sp7 sp10 sp15 sp20

1,2
Probability of dry spells

1
0,8
0,6
0,4
0,2
0
1 21 41 61 81 101 121 141 161 181 201 221 241 261 281 301 321 341 361
Days of the year(DOY)

Figure 3. Markov-Chain model output of dry spells for Haramaya district

Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management 894

Dry spell length analysis for crop production using Markov-Chain model in Eastern Hararghe, Ethiopia

Major crops of the area like maize (Zea mays) and to this work). The annual rainfall condition over
Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) were impacted due to the district was tends to decrease over the period
this problem. This is what has been well of 1980- 2013, as shown by the trend line in
recognized in the area over the last thirty years (as Figure 4. The area had also faced high annual
per the informal interview with the local farming rainfall variability, showing the CV of 34%
communities which has been not incorporated in (Table 2).

Annual RF Linear (Annual RF)

y = -13,71x + 952,5
1400 R = 0,310
Annual rainfall(mm)

1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0

Years

Figure 4. Annual rainfall distribution of Haramaya district for the period 1980-2013

Furthermore, the study depicted that the impacts
caused due long dry spells in Kersa district was
not as difficult as the other two districts. The dry
spell lengths for all the considered dry spell days
in this particular study were estimated to fall
below 30% in Kersa district, during the main
rainy season of the area, JJAS (Figure 5). The
implication for this was that the agricultural crop
production in the area was better as compared to
the other two districts. Thus, farmers in this area
were producing goodcrops, though the rainfall
was decreasing (Figure 6) and variable (Table 2)
over the last three decades. Sorecha et al. (2017)
reported that the rainfall over Kersa district
showed a decreasing trend by -10.61 mm/yr,
although not statistically significant.

sp5 sp7 sp10 sp15 sp20

1,2
Probability of dry spell

1
0,8
0,6
0,4
0,2
0
1 21 41 61 81 101 121 141 161 181 201 221 241 261 281 301 321 341 361
Days of the year (DOY)

Figure 5.Markov-Chain model output of dry spells for Kersa district

Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management 895

Dry spell length analysis for crop production using Markov-Chain model in Eastern Hararghe, Ethiopia
Annual RF
1600
Annual rainfall(mm)
1400
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
Figure 6. Annual rainfall distribution of Kersa district for the period 1980-2013
Conclusion
The study attempt to analyze the dry spell lengths
over three districts and pointed out that dry spell
lengths of the considered days: 5 days, 7 days, 10
days, 15 days and 20 days varies from place to
place over the study areas of Babile, Haramaya
and Kersa districts. In line with this, the impacts
caused due to the dry spell lengths also varies.
The dry spell lengths of 5 days and a week or 7
days were well notified over the considered
stations, except in Kersa district where the dry
spell lengths fall below 30 %. Dry spellswere
hitting Babile district more comparing to the other
two districts. The probability of dry spell length of
5 days and 7 days in Babile werefound to be about
99 and 80%, respectively. The study also depicts
that the annual rainfall in all districtswere
decreasing as per the trend line and variable as per
the CV values for respective stations. Therefore,
such baseline information regarding the dry spell
length analysis has to be well understood by the
farming communities to enable them to get ready
against the challenges associated with dry spells
in the upcoming periods, so as to ensure food
security and climate resilient economy.
Acknowledgement
We, the author would like to thanks National
Meteorological Agency of Ethiopia for providing me
the climate data free of charge. Next, our special thanks
go to Haramaya University, Research Affairs Office for
financial issue. Lastly, we would like to acknowledge
people who contributed their knowledge and time in
editing the paper.
Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management
Linear (Annual RF)
y = -14,01x + 1005
R = 0,318
Years
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Stern, R.D. 1983. Analysis of rainfall data for
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Jayewardene, D.R. 2005.Trends in rainfall in Sri
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Physics 6:7-17.
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daily rainfall series in Peninsular Malaysia.
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Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management 898

JOURNAL OF DEGRADED AND MINING LANDS MANAGEMENT
ISSN: 2339-076X (p); 2502-2458 (e), Volume 4, Number 4 (July 2017): 899-905
DOI:10.15243/jdmlm.2017.044.899

Research Article

The effectiveness of Mendong plant (Fimbrystilis globulosa) as a

phytoremediator of soil contaminated with chromium of industrial
waste
Pungky Ferina, Retno Rosariastuti, Supriyadi*
Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Sebelas Maret University, Jl. Ir. Sutami No.36A Surakarta
57126, Indonesia
*corresponding author: supriyadi_uns@yahoo.com
Received 28 April 2017, Accepted 24 May 2017

Abstract : The textile industry produces sideline output in the form of dangerous waste. The textile
industrial waste containing heavy metal, one of which is Chromium (Cr). Chromium is very dangerous
metal for environment, especially chromium hexavalent that has properties of soluble, carcinogenic, and
toxic. The pollution of chromium in soil is a problem that the action to be taken with the technology of
bioremediation. Phytoremediation of soil contaminated with chromium using Mendong plant
(Fimbrystilis globulosa), combined with association of microorganisms Agrobacterium sp I3 and
compost. This study was conducted in field experiment plots using a completely randomized block
design. Data were analyzed using Anova followed by Duncan and correlation tests. The results showed
that the Mendong plant was an effective phytoremediator of soil contaminated with chromium and it can
be used as a chromium accumulator plant. The highest decrease of soil chromium content of 58.39% was
observed on the combined artificial fertilizer, Agrobacterium sp I3 and Mendong plant treatment
(P1B1T1). Removal effectiveness of chromium at the treatments using Mendong plant was higher than
without the Mendong plant. Chromium uptake in shoots was higher than in roots of Mendong plant.
Bioremediation increased the total bacterial colonies, decreased soil pH, and increased cation exchange
capacity of the soil. The growth of the Mendong plant was in a good condition during the process of
bioremediation.
Keywords: bioremediation, chromium, Fimbrystilis globulosa, phytoremediation, rhizoremediation
To cite this article: Ferina, P., Rosariastuti, R., Supriyadi. 2017. The effectiveness of Mendong plant (Fimbrystilis
globulosa) as a phytoremediator of soil contaminated with chromium of industrial waste. J. Degrade. Min. Land
Manage. 4(4): 899-905, DOI: 10.15243/jdmlm.2017.044.899.

Introduction Ni, and Zn. One of the dangerous heavy metals is

A growing population increases human needs to
meet the human life. One the measures to enhance
the welfare of human life is the existence of
industrial activities. One of industrial activities is
the textile industry that produces output in the
form of waste. Textile industrial waste contains
toxic materials that are harmful to the
environment, water, soil, and human health.
According of the Ministry of the Environment
(2010), many of heavy metals that are produced
by the textile industry are Ag, Cu, Cr, Pb, Cd, Hg,
Chromium (Cr). Chromium comes from industrial
activity, textile, tanning, manufacturing of paints,
iron coating, wood preservation, and mining
activities.
Chromium is hazardous to the environment,
especially chromium hexavalent / Cr (VI) because
it has properties of soluble, carcinogenic, and
toxic, that cause death of microorganisms,
animals, and humans if concentration is above of
standard quality (U.S. Department of Health and
Human Service 2012). In Jaten District,
Karanganyar Regency, Central Java Province,

www.jdmlm.ub.ac.id 899
The effectiveness of Mendong plant as a phytoremediator of soil contaminated with chromium

there are many agricultural lands that have been
irrigated with industrial wastewater in Jaten
containing Cr between 0.531-3.99 ppm
(Widyastuti et al., 2003). In general, standard
quality of chromium in soils that is allowed by the
Indonesian Government is 2.3 ppm (Ministry of
Environment, 2010). Soils in Kebakkramat sub
district, Karanganyar Regency are suspected to be
polluted with Cr above the standard quality
because there are many industries at
Kebakkramat areas. The textile industries in the
Kebakkramat area are near agricultural lands and
rivers. Textile industrial waste that is commonly
discharged to the river and agricultural land
becomes the source of contamination on the
surrounding agricultural lands.
Technology to recover quality of soil
contaminated with heavy metal that is now being
developed is bioremediation. Bioremediation is a
way to degrade, move, and change harmful
compounds into more simple and harmless
(Kamaludeen et al., 2003). Bioremediation that
uses plants is called phytoremediation.
Phytoremediation is a technology for reducing,
degrades, and isolates pollutants of the
environment by using plant (Pramono et al.,
2013). Plant that can be used as a
hyperaccumulator is a plant that has high
durability, rapid growth, ability to do
phytoextraction of heavy metal, and it is not a
food crop. Mendong plant is a non-food plant for
human or animal consumption that is easily
cultivated. The plant that can survive in flooded
condition has high economic value of craft
materials. The Mendong plant can be selected as a
plant in phytoremediation. One of
phytoremediation techniques that can be
employed to clean up soils contaminated with
heavy metals is rhizoremediation.
Rhizoremediation is a process that involves the
association of mutualism rizosphere plants with
microorganisms, which can release exudates and
oxygen into the soil to decrease chromium
(Pramono et al., 2013). The bacteria used in the
remediation of chromium are resistant to
chromium and can survive in the chromium-
contaminated environments. One of the bacteria
that is resistant to the environmental conditions
contaminated with heavy metals is Agrobacterium
sp I3. This bacterium can increase the uptake of
the Cr to plant shoots. Addition of Agrobacterium
sp I3 isolate can increase the growth of rami plant
(Rosariastuti et al., 2013).The purpose of this
study was to explore the ability of Mendong plant
in absorbing chromium in chromium
contaminated soil.
Materials and Methods
This study was carried out on paddy fields
contaminated with chromium at Waru village,
Kebakkramat sub district, Karanganyar regency of
Central Java Province, from May to October
2016. Treatments tested in this study consisted of
three factors, i.e. artificial fertilizers treatment (P),
chelators (Agrobacterium sp I3; or compost) (B),
and Mendong plant (T). Twelve treatments (Table
1) were arranged in a completely randomized
block design with three replicates.

Table 1. Treatments
No. Treatments Description
1. P0B0T0 Without artificial fertilizers, without chelators, without Mendong plant (control)
2. P0B0T1 Without artificial fertilizers, without chelators, with Mendong plant
3. P0B1T0 Without artificial fertilizers, with Agrobacterium sp I3, without Mendong plant
4. P0B1T1 Without artificial fertilizers, with Agrobacterium sp I3, with Mendong plant
5. P0B2T0 Without artificial fertilizers, with compost, without Mendong plant
6. P0B2T1 Without artificial fertilizers, with compost, with Mendong plant
7. P1B0T0 With artificial fertilizers, without chelators, without Mendong plant (control)
8. P1B0T1 With artificial fertilizers, without chelators, with Mendong plant
9. P1B1T0 With artificial fertilizers, with Agrobacterium sp I3, without Mendong plant
10. P1B1T1 With artificial fertilizers, with Agrobacterium sp I3, with Mendong plant
11. P1B2T0 With artificial fertilizers, with compost, without Mendong plant
12. P1B2T1 With artificial fertilizers, with compost, with Mendong plant

Preparation of bacteria carrier incubated for 2 months. After the incubation

period, the material mixture was sterilized using a
Carrier materials used for this study were 7.5 kg
presto pan for keeping the carrier sterile from
of bran compost, 750 mL of EM-4, and 15 L of
undesirable bacteria or fungi.
water. The materials were mixed well and then

Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management 900

The effectiveness of Mendong plant as a phytoremediator of soil contaminated with chromium
Preparation of Agrobacterium sp I3 inoculum
Duplication of Agrobacteriumsp I3 inoculum was
started with the preparation of the LB (Luria
Bertani) medium with the composition of 10 g
tripton, 10 g NaCl, 5 g yeast extract, 100 mL
distilled water, 15-20 g NA (Nutrient Agar)
medium with the composition of 10 g beef extract,
10 g peptone, 5 g NaCl, 1000 mL distilled water,
and 15 g agar/L. After obtaining pure isolate,
purification was done in Luria Bertani liquid in
Erlenmeyer and mixed up to gain density of 1010
cells/mL. The carrier was then enriched with
squirted Agrobacterium sp I3 to sterile carrier. The
comparison was 600 mL Agrobacterium sp I3 for
2 kg of the carrier.
Implementation of the study
This study used compost with a dose to the
Mendong plant of 5 t/ha, while a dose of NPK
fertilize used for Mendong plant was 400 kg/ha
(Darini 2012). The dose of compost applied to
Mendong plant treatment was 0.75 kg/plot of
land. The dose of compost applied to the control
treatment (without Mendong plant) was 1.125
kg/plot of land. Artificial fertilizers applied to
Mendong plant treatment were 19.59 g Urea/plot
of land, 25 g of SP-36/plot of land, and 15 g
KCl/plot of land. Artificial fertilizers applied to
control treatment (without Mendong plant) were
19.56 g Urea/plot of land, 18.75 g SP-36/plot of
land, and 11.25 g KCl/plot of land. Application of
compost and artificial fertilizers was done 1 day
before planting the Mendong plant. The size of
the plot of land was1.5 m x 1 m. Seeds of
Mendong plant needed were six in one treatment
or one plot of land, with spacing of plant per sub
plots was 50 cm. Field observations were plant
height of every week and plant dry weight at
harvest. Plant dry weight consisted of parts of the
root and the shoot of Mendong plant. Harvest was
carried out at 30 days after the Mendong planting
with bacterial isolate treatment. Analysis of
chromium content in soil, roots, and shoots of the
Mendong plant was done using a wet destruction
method with AAS (Atomic Absorption
Spectrophotometer). Soil parameters analyzed
were CEC (ammonium acetate saturation), C-
Organic (Walkley and Black), pH H2O
(Electrometric), and total bacterial colonies
(nutrient agar medium with the hand colony
counter). Removal effectiveness or
phytoremediation effectiveness of Cr was
calculated with the following formula: Removal
Effectiveness (%) = [(initial concentration-final
concentration)/initial concentration] x 100%. The
data obtained were subjected to statistical test of
Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management
Anova at 5 % level , continued test of Duncan at 5
% level, and correlation test.
Results and Discussion
Chromium content in the soil
Bioremediation decreased soil chromium
content in all treatments (Figure 1). Before
bioremediation, the soil contained chromium 2.46
mg/kg that was above the standard quality of 2.3
mg/kg (Ministry of Environment, 2010). The
decrease of chromium content in the soil was
caused by decrease of soil pH (Table 2).The high
H+ ions increased the solubility of chromium
hexavalent so chromium become soluble and
easily to be taken up by plant. Soil pH of all
treatments decreased after bioremediation (Table
2). The increase of acidity is usually caused by
waste containing free mineral acids and carbonic
acid (Sontang, 2004). As compost contains free
mineral acids, the compost treatment reduced soil
pH value.
The artificial fertilizers caused soil pH
become lower, it could happen because the
fertilizers are soluble in water or hygroscopic that
can cause content of H+ ions in the soil becomes
high. High H+ ion on water content causes the
solubility of hexavalent chromium higher, so it
has high solubility and more easily taken up by
plants (Yunilda 2008). Treatment with Mendong
plant (T1) had lower soil chromium content than
without Mendong plant (T0) (Figure 1).
Treatment with Agrobacterium sp I3 or compost
had lower soil chromium content than control
treatment (P0B0T0). It was proven by the increase
of C-organic after bioremediation (Table 2). High
C-organic in the soil caused high availability of
nutrient elements that affected the increase growth
of Mendong plant. The compost on P1B2T1
treatment could decrease Cr content by 1.55 g/g.
Results of Anova test at 5 % level showed that the
treatments of artificial fertilizers, Agrobacterium
sp I3, compost and Mendong plant significantly
decreased chromium content in the soil. Based on
the correlation tests, chromium content in the soil
correlated positively to soil pH. Content
chromium in the soil correlated negatively to total
soil bacterial colonies, soil CEC, and C-organic.
The treatment of artificial fertilizers,
Agrobacterium sp I3, compost and Mendong plant
decreased chromium content in the soil by 1.023
mg/kg (58.39%) in the P1B1T1 treatment,
whereas treatment with low chromium content
decrease was in the control treatment of P0B0T0
with chromium content in the soil was 2.438
mg/kg.
901
The effectiveness of Mendong plant as a phytoremediator of soil contaminated with chromium

4,5 2.438b
Cr content in the soil (g/g) 4
3,5
3 2,46 1.853ab 2.155ab
2,5 1.423ab1.782ab1.554a 1.762ab 1.75ab
2 1.737ab 1.714ab 1.55a
1,5 1.023a
1
0,5
0

Figure 1. Chromium content in the soil.

Mendong plant ability in decreasing chromium in effectiveness more than without Mendong plant.
the soil can be calculated to detect effectiveness as The Mendong plant could increase CEC (Table
a phytoremediator. Phytoremediation 2). The process of bioremediation make Cr6+
effectiveness for soil contaminated with cation is exchanged with other cations, Cr in the
chromium was high in the treatment of Mendong soil are exchanged with other cations then Cr in
plant with artificial fertilizers, with the soil could be reduced because of the Cr in the
Agrobacterium sp I3 (P1B1T1) of 58.39% (Table soil is uptake by plants. Bacteria acted elaborate
3). Whereas other treatment combinations using compost into the nutrient elements ready to be
Mendong plant had chromium removal uptake by the plant (Hanafiah et al., 2009).

Table 2. Soil characteristics

Treatment *) Soil pH Soil CEC C-organic Total Soil Bacterial
(cmol(+)/kg) (%) Colonies (log 10
CFU/g)
Initial Soil 7.55 19.614 3.31 12.62
P0B0T0 (control) 6.96 bc 30.22 ab 2.91 a 12.65 a
P0B0T1 6.59 a 26.43 ab 2.99 a 12.18 a
P0B1T0 6.76 abc 32.24 b 3.28 a 16.18 b
P0B1T1 7.02 c 21.67 a 3.72 a 16.85 c
P0B2T0 6.88 abc 22.39 ab 3.11 a 12.66 a
P0B2T1 6.90 bc 23.91 ab 4.14 a 12.88 a
P1B0T0 6.59 a 29.98 ab 2.85 a 14.54 a
P1B0T1 6.68 ab 22.79 ab 2.71 a 12.98 a
P1B1T0 6.88 abc 25.73 ab 3.47 a 14.54 a
P1B1T1 6.81 abc 24.97 ab 3.05 a 14.57 a
P1B2T0 6.69 ab 26.79 ab 3.23 a 12.24 a
P1B2T1 6.59 a 24.21 ab 3.32 a 12.10 a
Remarks: Numbers followed by the same letter at the same column show no significant different in LSD test at 5%
level. *) see Table 1.

Treatment combinations of artificial fertilizers, sp I3 helped Mendong plant to accelerate

bacteria Agrobacterium sp I3 and Mendong plant
decreased chromium concentration in the soil.
Agrobacterium sp I3 treatment that made
symbiosis with root of Mendong plant decreased
chromium concentration in the soil because
Agrobacterium sp I3 has high tolerance to
hexavalent chromium (Rosariastuti et al., 2013).
In phytostabilization mechanism, Agrobacterium
Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management
chromium in rhizosphere areas or chromium
uptake by root but it could not be toxic for root of
Mendong plant. Total soil bacterial colonies on all
treatments increased, except on the P0B0T1
(Table 2). Agrobacterium sp I3 treatment had more
total bacterial colonies than the compost
treatments. The treatment with the highest number
of total soil bacterial colonies of 16.85 log 10
902
The effectiveness of Mendong plant as a phytoremediator of soil contaminated with chromium

CFU/g was the P0B1T1 treatment (Table 2). was effective as a phytoremediator of soil
Application of Agrobacterium sp I3 also increased contaminated with chromium if it was combined
the total soil bacterial colonies. with artificial fertilizers, Agrobacterium sp I3, and
compost. The Mendong plant treatment without
artificial fertilizers and chelators could only
Table 3. Chromium removal effectiveness
decrease chromium concentration by 29.37%.
Treatment *) Phytoremediation Therefore, a better strategy for bioremediation of
Effectiveness (%) Cr contaminated soil is a combination treatment
P0B0T0 0.87 that can do maximum absorption of chromium.
P0B0T1 29.37
P0B1T0 24.65 Chromium content and uptake by Mendong
P0B1T1 30.32 plant
P0B2T0 12.38
Chromium content in roots was lower than
P0B2T1 42.15
chromium content in shoot of Mendong plant
P1B0T0 27.55 (Figure 2). Mendong plant with control treatment
P1B0T1 36.98 (P0B0T1) had chromium content in shoot of
P1B1T0 28.38
plant that was lower than the other treatments.
P1B1T1 58.39
Treatment of compost application (B2) had
P1B2T0 28.84
chromium content in the shoot that was higher
P1B2T1 36.98
than the other treatment. Based on the Anova test
*) see Table 1. at 5% level, chelator treatments influenced
differently to chromium content in shoot of
The resilience of bacteria can be seen from the Mendong plant. This indicates that addition of
number of colonies, if number of total soil compost improved C-organic in the soil. The high
bacterial colonies before bioremediation is low, content of C-organic in the soilled to the high
and they become high after bioremediation, so the chromium uptake, because C-organic affected
Agrobacterium sp I3proved capable of adapting chromium uptake processes in plant roots and
and a good tolerance in those plots. Treatment that shoot. Chromium content in root of Mendong
had lowest removal effectiveness of 0.87% was plant was lower than that in the shoot.
the control treatment (P0B0T0). Mendong plant

40,000
30.259a
Mendong Plant (g/g)

30,000 26.639a
Cr Content in the

20,000
8.020a 6.162a
10,000 6.082a
1.491a 4.841a
0.45a 0.649a 1.782a 1.123a 0.45a
0,000
-10,000 P0B0T1 P0B1T1 P0B2T1 P1B0T1 P1B1T1 P1B2T1

Cr Content in Root Cr Content in the Shoot

Figure2. Chromium content in Mendong plant root and shoot

The highest Chromium uptake in the shoot of
Mendong plant the (214.92 g) was observed in
the P0B2T1 treatment (Figure 3). Based on the Cr
uptake, Mendong plant can be considered as a Cr
hyperaccumulator plant. A plant can be
considered hyperaccumulator if it can uptake
more than 100 ppm for Cd, Cr, Pb, and Co
(Baker et al., 1994). The lowest chromium uptake
in the root was observed in the P1B2T1 treatment
(Figure 3). It occurred because chromium was
translocated in the shoot of Mendong plant.
Hexavalent chromium gets into the root from
epidermis, then crosses a series of cells and breaks
through the endodermis to xylem shoot of the
plant. The highest chromium uptake in the root is
(11.83g) in the P1B0T1 treatment (Figure 3).
The uptake process occurs because of
accumulation of Cr in the root cells. The root
cells are closely related to soil CEC. Soil CEC
increased during the bioremediation process, so a
high soil CEC caused the high chromium uptake
in the root. Based on the Anova test at 5 % level,
chelator treatment resulted in significantly
different Chromium uptake in the shoot of the
Mendong plant.

Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management 903

The effectiveness of Mendong plant as a phytoremediator of soil contaminated with chromium
300,000
Mendong Plant (g)
Cr Uptake in the
200,000
100,000 9.77a 49.08ab
23.56a 3.3a
0,000
-100,000 P0B0T1 P0B1T1
Cr Uptake in Root
Figure 3. Chromium uptake in the Mendong plant
Height of Mendong plant
Plant height was measured at a time of maximum
vegetative period. Application of artificial
fertilizers increased the height of the Mendong
plant. Data presented in Figure 4 show that the
growth of Mendong plant varied. The highest
Mendong plant of 65.6 cm was in the P1B2T1
treatment, while the lowest plant height of 49.8
cm was in the P0B2T1 treatment. Based on the
correlation test, the height of Mendong plant was
correlated positively to chromium content in the
root, chromium content in the shoot, chromium
uptake in the root, chromium uptake in the shoot,
and dry weight of the plant. Based on the Anova
test at 5 % level, the artificial fertilizers treatment
provided significantly different height of
80,0
Height of Mendong
50.0a 51.4a
60,0
Plant (cm)
40,0
20,0
0,0
P0B0T1 P0B1T1
Figure 4. Height of Mendong Plant
Dry weight of Mendong plant
Figure 4 shows that the P1B2T1 treatment had
the highest growth, but the treatment had the
lowest dry weight (Figure 5). This occured
because of the different in the number of clumps
in the Mendong Plant. Mendong plant has many
numbers of clumps then it automatically has high
dry weight. Based on Figure 5, it can be seen that
the highest plant dry weight of16.725 g on the
P1B1T1 treatment. The lowest plant dry weight
Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management
214.92b
150.41ab
43.13ab 37.47ab
3.88a 11.82a 10.17a 1.49a
P0B2T1 P1B0T1 P1B1T1 P1B2T1
Cr Uptake in Shoot
Mendong plant. Figure 4 shows that artificial
fertilizers treatment (P1) made Mendong plant
higher than that without artificial fertilizers (P0).
Artificial fertilizers applied in this research were
Urea, KCl, and SP-36 to accelerate the growth of
plant, increase the rate of photosynthesis, plant
cells, stimulates enlargement the cells, and make
stronger plant shoot. The Mendong plant has self-
defense against the toxicity chromium in the
environment. This is shown by the high growth of
Mendong plant. Therefore, Mendong plant can be
use as a hyperaccumulator plant for chromium,
because chromium uptake in the plant was high
and plant vegetative growth did not suffer
interface.
61.7bc 65.6c
49.8a 53.6ab
P0B2T1 P1B0T1 P1B1T1 P1B2T1
of7.943 g was on the P1B2T1 treatment.
Hyperaccumulator plant can be tolerance against
heavy metals at least 10-20 times of normal plant
and still produce high biomass (Baker et al.,
1994). Plant dry weight correlated positively to
chromium content in the root, chromium uptake in
the root, and height of Mendong plant. However,
plant dry weight correlated negatively to
chromium content in shoot and chromium uptake
in shoot. Based on Anova test, chelators
significantly increased plant dry weight.
904
The effectiveness of Mendong plant as a phytoremediator of soil contaminated with chromium

25,000 15.460ab
Mendong Plant (g) 14.403ab 16.725b
20,000 13.957ab 13.609ab
Dry Weight of

7.943a
15,000
10,000
5,000
0,000
P0B0T1 P0B1T1 P0B2T1 P1B0T1 P1B1T1 P1B2T1

Figure 5.Dry weight of Mendong plant

Conclusion Pramono, A., Irfan, D., Ngadiman., Rosariastuti, R.

The Mendong plant effective as a as
phytoremediator
remediator of soil contaminated with
chromium and can be used as plant of chromium
hyperaccumulator. Bioremediation decreased soil
pH, increased soil CEC, increased soil C-organic,
C chromium uptake enhancing bacteria from soil
and increased total soil bacterial colonies.
Effective combination treatments to decreased
chromium in the soil was application artificial
fertilizers, Agrobacterium sp I3, Mendong plant
(P1B1T1) had highest phytoremediation
effectiveness of 58.39 %, 42,15 % in (P0B2T1)
treatment, and 36,98 % in (P1B0T1
P1B0T1) treatment.
Chelator treatments (Agrobacterium
Agrobacterium sp I3 or
compost) had lower chromium content in the soil
than in the control treatment (P0B0T0).Removal
(P0B0T0).
effectiveness of chromium in treatment using
Mendong plant was higher than without Mendong
plant. Chromium uptake in the root was less than
chromium uptake in the shoot of plant.
plant Artificial
fertilizers, Agrobacterium sp I3 and compost
increased the growth of Mendong plant. The
growth of Mendong plant was in a good condition
during the bioremediation process.
2013. Bacterial Cr (VI) reduction and its impact
impact.
Jurnal Ilmu Lingkungan 11 (2) : 120
120-131.
Rosariastuti, R., Prijambada, I.D., Ngadiman.,
Prawidyarini, G.S., and Putri, A.R. 2013. Isolation
and identification of plant growth promoting and
contaminated by leather tanning industrial wa waste.
Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences 9 : 243-251.
Sontang, E. 2004. Pengelolaan Lingkungan Hidup.
Jakarta : Jambatan
U.S. Department of Health and Human Service. 2012.
Toxicological Profile for Chromium. http
://www.atsdr.cdc.gov. Accessed on 03 Janu January
2017.
Widyastuti, E., Rosariastuti,, R. and Syamsiyah, J.
2003. Pengaruh macam bahan organik terhadap
kelarutan dan kadar Cr tanaman jagung (Zea mays
L) di tanah Entisol yang tercemar limbah cair
industri tekstil batik. Seminar Nasional Pengelolaan
Lingkungan
Yunilda, A. 2008. Ilmu Tanah. Jakarta : Gramedia

References
Baker, A.J.M., Reeves, R.D., and Hajar, A.S.M. 1994.
Heavy metal accumulation and tolerance in british
population of the metallophyte Thlaspi
caerulescens and Brassicaceae. New Phytologist
Trust 127 : 61-68
Hanafiah., Sabrina T., dan Guchi H. 2009. Biologi
Biolog dan
Ekologi Tanah. Fakultas Pertanian Universitas
Sumatera Utara, Medan.
Kamaludeen, S.P., Arunkumar, K.R .R., Avudainayagam,
S. and Ramasamy, K. 2003. Bioremediation of
chromium contaminated environments. Indian
Journal of Experimental Biology 41 (9) : 972-985.
Ministry of Environment Indonesia. 2010. Kementrian
Lingkungan Hidup. Himpunan Peraturan
Lingkungan Hidup. Ekojaya : Jakarta

Journal of Degraded
raded and Mining Lands Management 905
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Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management 906

JOURNAL OF DEGRADED AND MINING LANDS MANAGEMENT
ISSN: 2339-076X (p); 2502-2458 (e), Volume 4, Number 4 (July 2017): 907-918
DOI:10.15243/jdmlm.2017.044.907

Research Article

Land suitability evaluation of abandoned tin-mining areas for

agricultural development in Bangka Island, Indonesia
Asmarhansyah1*, Rodrigo B. Badayos2, Pearl B. Sanchez2, Pompe C. Sta Cruz3,
Leonardo M. Florece4
1
Kepulauan Bangka Belitung Assessment Institute for Agricultural Technology, Agency for Agricultural Research
and Development, Indonesia
2
Soils and Agro-ecosystems Division, Agricultural Systems Cluster, UPLB,
3
Crop Physiology Division, Crop Science Cluster, UPLB,
4
School of Environmental Science and Management, UPLB
*corresponding author: asmarhansyah@gmail.com
Received 24 May 2017, Accepted 2 June 2017

Abstract : Kepulauan Bangka Belitung, Indonesia is one of the tin mineral-producer in the world.
Agricultural crops could be a wise option for the reclamation since abandoned tin-mining lands have a
high potency to be used as agricultural lands. This study was aimed to evaluate of the land/soil
characteristics of abandoned tin-mining areas and to establish land suitability of the land area for
agriculture used to formulate appropriate land development measures and amelioration strategies
forutilization of mined areas for crop production. The land evaluation was conducted by comparing the
land characteristics in every type of abandoned tin-mining areas with its crop requirements. The current
suitability showed that in general food crops, vegetable crops, fruit crops, and industrial crops were
consider as not suitable (N). Spice and medicinal crops [pepper (Piper nigrum L.)] and citronella
(Andropogoh nardus L. Rendle)] were consider as not suitable (N), while the Jatropha (Jatropha curcas
L.) and Kemiri Sunan (Aleurites moluccana L. Willd) crops were considered as marginally suitable (S3)
in abandoned tin-mining areas. The forest crops and forage crops were considered as marginally suitable
(S3). The water availability, soil texture, and low soil fertility were considered as the limiting factors of
all crops to get optimum production. For agricultural development, the soil physical and chemical
properties of abandoned tin-mining land must be improved through integrated farming.
Keywords: Indonesia, land suitability, mining areas, tin
To cite this article: Asmarhansyah, Badayos, R.B., Sanchez, P.B., Sta Cruz, P.C. and Florece, L.M. 2017. Land
suitability evaluation of abandoned tin-mining areas for agricultural development in Bangka Island, Indonesia. J.
Degrade. Min. Land Manage. 4(4): 907-918, DOI: 10.15243/jdmlm.2017.044.907.

Introduction Reynolds and Reddy, 2012; Ndace and Danladi,

Kepulauan Bangka Belitung, Indonesia is one of
the tin mineral-producers in the world (Weber,
2003) with production of 95,200 ton (USGS,
2015) since Kepulauan Bangka Belitung laid
under Southeast Asia Tin Belt (Cobbing, 2005).
This industry had huge impacts on economic and
social life of the communities (Masialeti and
Kinabo, 2005; Onwuka et al., 2013; Nurtjahja and
Agustina, 2015). Besides, it had also impact on
the environment (Adewole and Adesina, 2011;
2012; Narendra and Pratiwi, 2016). One of the
impacts of tin-mining activities is the change of
landscape (Sheoran et al., 2010; Nurtjahja and
Agustina, 2015). Lands abandoned after tin-
mining activity are degraded lands with
undulating landscape (Asmarhansyah, 2016a) and
low soil fertility status (Inonu, 2011;
Asmarhansyah, 2016b), and land productivity
(Gao and Liu, 2010).Soil texture of tailings
generated due to former-tin mining activities are
dominated by sandy texture (Setiadi, 2002; Ashraf

www.jdmlm.ub.ac.id 907
Land suitability evaluation of abandoned tin-mining areas for agricultural development
et al., 2010; Ashraf et al., 2013; Nurcholish et al.,
2013) and it caused soil properties ofthe tailings
are very bad as a growth media. Tailings have a
high portion of sand, low clay content, low soil
pH, low organic matter content, low cation
exchange capacity (CEC), low water-holding
capacity, and very low essential macro elements
(Nurtjahja et al., 2009; Budianta et al., 2013;
Asmarhansyah, 2016a). As reported by previous
researchers, it is said that former-tin mining lands
have poor physical and chemical properties. Inonu
(2011) and Asmarhansyah (2016b) stated that
former-tin mining areas were dominated by sandy
texture and low nutrient content. Mine
reclamation programs commonly use only a
single, exotic, fast-growing species,
especially Acacia mangium and Falcataria
moluccana (Kodir et al., 2017). However,
agricultural crops could be a wise option for the
reclamation of these areas since former-tin mining
lands have a high potency to be used as
agricultural lands. Studies into the application of
various types of organic materials to ameliorate
tin-tailings and trials on the suitability of various
types of legumes have been carried out (Inonu,
2011). The environmental impact of the activities
needs to be addressed with technologies which are
economically viable and environmentally sound
(Suhartini and Abubakar, 2017). It means that
through the improvement the soil properties, the
former-tin mining areas have a potency to be used
as crop production areas. Land use of abandoned
tin-mining areas for agriculture use must
determine land characteristic/quality and climate,
through land suitability evaluation. Ritung et al.
(2007) stated that determination of post mining
land use should be considering the physical land
properties, topography properties, and climate.
This study was aimed to evaluate of the land/soil
characteristics of abandoned tin-mining areas and
to establish land suitability of the land area for
agriculture used to formulate appropriate land
development measures and amelioration strategies
forutilization of minedareasfor crop production.
Materials and Methods
Time and place of study
The research was conducted in abandoned-tin
mining areas, where small-scale and large-scale
mines were operating. Site visits and soil
characterization were done in April-May 2015.
Assessment the land use of the study areas and
their requirement and limitation
As observed in the field, the abandoned tin-
mining areas have high potentials to be developed
Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management
as agricultural areas. The requirements and
limitations for growth of various crops were
obtained from literatures such as Sys et al. (1993)
and Indonesian Center for Agricultural Land
Resources Research and Development (2011).
Determining types of abandoned tin-mining
areas and land quality
Based on field observation, the types of
abandoned tin-mining areas assessed were (1)
Sand tailing, (2) Sand tailing with vegetation, (3)
Mixture of sand tailing and overburden, (4)
Mixture of sand tailing and overburden with
vegetation, (5) Sand tailing from unconventional
mining, and (6) Overburden from unconventional
mining. The agricultural land was taken as
comparison. Land characteristics developed were
based on climatic, soil, and topographic data. Soil
samples taken from the soil profiles were sent to
Indonesian Soil Research Institute in Bogor,
Indonesia for analyses.
Comparison of land use and land quality
requirements
The land evaluation was conducted by comparing
the land characteristics in every type of
abandoned tin-mining areas with its crop
requirements. The land suitability classifications
were defined based on their most serious limiting
factors which may consist of one or more factors
depending on land characteristics.
Land suitability evaluation
Land suitability evaluation was conducted in
order to interpret the combination of land
suitability classes. The evaluation process will
determine whether certain land types of
abandoned tin-mining areas are recommended for
food, vegetable, fruit, industrial, spice and
medicinal, forestry, and forage crops.
Results and Discussion
Climate
The annual average rainfall in the study area was
2,406 mm. The mean annual temperature of the
area is 26.97o C, the lowest temperature is 26.21o
C, while the highest temperature is 27.65o C. The
area has a mean annual relative humidity of
81.23%, with lowest relative humidity of 75.34%,
while the highest relative humidity is 85.75%
(Meteorology Station of Pangkalpinang, 2015)
Abandoned tin-mining soils assessed
The abandoned tin-mining areas used in this study
are shown in Table 1.
908
Land suitability evaluation of abandoned tin-mining areas for agricultural development

Table 1. Location of abandoned tin-mining soils of Bangka Island, Indonesia

Abandoned Tin-Mining Soils Elevation Coordinate Point Location
(m, above South East
sea level)
Sand Tailing 11 02o2424 106o0154 Lampur, Central
Bangka
Sand Tailing with vegetation 26 02o1439 106o0854 Cambai, Central
Bangka
Mixture of Sand Tailing and 12 01o3970 105o4807 Nyatoh, Bangka
overburden
Mixture of Sand Tailing and 10 01o5941 106o0841 Batu Ampar,
overburden with vegetation Bangka
Sand Tailing from Unconventional 11 02o1648 106o1225 Belilik, Central
Mining Bangka
Overburden from Unconventional 11 02o1648 106o1225 Belilik, Central
Mining Bangka
Agricultural Land 25 02o1459 106o0825 Cambai, Central
Bangka

Physical properties Composition of tin tailings dominated by sand

fraction has implications on other properties.
Physical properties of abandoned tin-mining soils
Brady and Weil (1996) stated that the high
from Bangka Island, Indonesia, are shown in
percentage of sand particles implies a low specific
Table 2. As shown in Table 2, agricultural area
surface area of the tailings, and thus a low
has sandy clay loam textural class; mixture of
aggregation and capacity for binding nutrients and
sand tailing and overburden with vegetation has
retaining water.
sandy loam textural class, and other abandoned
tin-mining areas have loamy sand textural classes.

Table 2. Textural class of abandoned tin-mining soils of Bangka Island, Indonesia

Abandoned Tin-Mining Soils Particle Size (USDA) Texture
%Sand %Silt %Clay
Sand Tailing 81 11 8 loamy sand(LS)
Sand Tailing with Vegetation 81 18 1 loamy sand (LS)
Mixture of Sand Tailing and Overburden 80 18 2 loamy sand
(LS)
Mixture of Sand Tailing and Overburden with 77 12 11 sandy loam
vegetation (SL)
Sand Tailing from Unconventional Mining 85 7 8 loamy sand
(LS)
Overburden from Unconventional Mining 80 18 2 loamy sand
(LS)
Agricultural Land 69 4 27 sandy clay loam
(SCL)

Chemical properties tailing and overburden, or its mixture. It could be

understood since the physical characteristics,
Chemical properties of abandoned tin-mining
especially soil texture, will affect their chemical
areas are shown in Table 3. It can be seen from
characteristics. Sand tailings are highly porous
Table 3 that the pH of abandoned tin-mining soils
and have a very low organic (Ang, 2002;
are very strong acid according to the classification
Asmarhansyah, 2016a). The content of P2O5, K2O,
of soil reactions. The organic matter and nitrogen
and exchangeable bases of sand tailing and
of agricultural soil is higher compared to sand
overburden are classified as very low to low.

Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management 909

Land suitability evaluation of abandoned tin-mining areas for agricultural development

Table 3.Chemical characteristics of abandoned tin-mining soils of Bangka Island, Indonesia

Abandoned Tin-Mining Soils pH Organic HCl25% Exchangeable Cations BS KCl1 N
Matter (NH4-Acetate 1 N, pH 7)
H2O KCl Org. C N C/N P2O5 K2O Ca Mg K Na Tot CEC % Al3+ H+
% mg/100 g cmolc /kg cmolc /kg
Sand Tailing 4.7 4.3 0.13 0.01 13 4 1 0.11 0.04 0.01 0.03 0.19 1.22 15.57 0.00 0.08
Sand Tailing with Vegetation 4.8 4.4 0.19 0.02 10 5 2 0.14 0.05 0.01 0.04 0.24 1.49 16.10 0.00 0.16
Mixture of Sand Tailing and 4.6 4.3 0.10 0.01 10 5 1 0.31 0.04 0.01 0.03 0.39 1.69 23.07 0.06 0.16
Overburden
Mixture of Sand Tailing and 5.1 4.6 0.16 0.02 8 4 2 0.38 0.05 0.03 0.03 0.49 4.27 11.47 0.03 0.12
Overburden with Vegetation
Sand Tailing from 5.0 4.7 0.11 0.01 11 4 1 0.15 0.03 0.01 0.03 0.22 1.18 18.64 0.06 0.15
Unconventional Mining
Overburden from 5.1 4.6 0.24 0.04 11 5 3 0.18 0.06 0.01 0.04 0.29 3.24 8.95 0.05 0.14
Unconventional Mining
Agricultural Land 5.2 4.7 1.94 0.19 10 19 3 0.23 0.11 0.04 0.05 0.43 6.66 6.45 1.19 0.25

Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management 910

Land suitability evaluation of abandoned tin-mining areas for agricultural development

Current suitability of different abandoned tin- are helpful indices to indicate and determine the
mining soils limitations and constrains to crop production. The
suitability classes of the lands denote the
Current suitability is the suitability of the soils to
qualitative analysis of the soils potential to the
crop grown based on their climate, physical and
crops commonly grown in the area. It implies
chemical qualities, while potential suitability is
what type of crop would give the highest benefit
obtained when the limitations posed by the current
in terms of productivity and profitability from a
suitability rating are corrected depending on the
given soil indicated by S1 as the most suitable, S2
level of input(s). The classes for the limitation and
as moderately suitable, and S3 as marginally
suitability of different abandoned tin-mining soils
suitable. The symbol N implies that the crop is not
to various crops were determined based on
suitable. The land quality/characteristics of
temperature (tc), water availability (wa), rooting
abandoned tin-mining areas in Bangka Island,
media (rc), nutrient retention (nr), nutrient
Indonesia are shown in Table 4.
availability (na), toxicity (xc), erosion hazard (eh),
and land preparation (lp). The suitability classes

Table 4. Land quality/characteristics of abandoned tin-mining areas in Bangka Island, Indonesia

Land Quality/ Sand Sand Mixed Mixed Sand Over
Characteristics Tailing Tailing Sand Tailing Sand Tailing Tailing burden
with and and from from UM
Vegetation Overburden Overburden UM
with
vegetation
Temperature (tc)
Mean Annual Temperature 26.97 26.97 26.97 26.97 26.97 26.97
(oC)
Water Availability (wa)
Rainfall/Year (mm) 2,406 2,406 2,406 2,406 2,406 2,406
Relative Humidity (%) 81.23 81.23 81.23 81.23 81.23 81.23
Long of Dry Month 1 1 1 1 1 1
(month)
Rooting Media (rc)
Drainage G, M G, M G, M G, M G, M G, M
Texture LS LS LS SL LS LS
Coarse Material (%) <15 <15 <15 <15 <15 <15
Effective Depth (cm) >100 >100 >100 >100 >100 >100
Peat: -Ripeness -Depth - - - - - -
(cm)
Nutrient Retention (nr)
CEC (cmolc/kg) 1.22 1.49 1.69 4.27 1.18 3.24
BS (%) 15.57 16.10 23.07 11.47 18.64 8.95
pH 4.7 4.8 4.6 5.1 5.0 5.1
Organic-C (%) 0.13 0.19 0.10 0.16 0.11 0.24
Nutrient Availability (na)
Total-N (%) 0.01 0.02 0.01 0.02 0.01 0.04
P2O5 (mg/100g) HCl25% 4.00 5.00 5.00 4.00 4.00 5.00
K2O (mg/100g) HCl25% 1.00 2.00 1.00 2.00 1.00 3.00
Erosion Hazard (eh)
Slope (%) <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3
Erosion Hazard Level - - - - - -
Flood Hazard (fh)
High (cm) - - - - - -
Duration (day) - - - - - -
Land Preparation
Soil surface stoniness (%) <5 <5 <5 <5 <5 <5
Surface outcrops (%) <5 <5 <5 <5 <5 <5
Remark: UM: Unconventional Mining; SCL: Sandy Clay Loam; LS: Loamy Sand; SL: Sandy Loam;G: Good; M:
Moderate

Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management 911

Land suitability evaluation of abandoned tin-mining areas for agricultural development

Based on the rating for limitations and suitability
of abandoned tin-mining areas (Table 5, 6, 7, and
8), in general food crops, vegetable crops, fruit
crops, and industrial crops were consider as not
suitable (N), except the mixture of sand tailing
and overburden with vegetation was considered as
marginally suitable (S3). The water availability,
soil texture and low soil fertility were considered
as the limiting factors of all crops to get optimum
production.

Table 5. Rating for limitations and suitability of abandoned tin-mining land for food crop
Abandoned Tin-Mining FoodCrop
Land Corn Cassava Sweet Taro Peanut
(Zea (Manihot Potato (Colocasia (Arachis
mays L.) esculenta (Ipomea esculenta L. hypogeaL.)
Crantz) batatas Schott)
Poir)
1 Sand Tailing Ntwrn Nwrn Ntwrn Nrn Nwrn
2 Sand Tailing with Ntwrn Nwrn Ntwrn Nrn Nwrn
Vegetation
3 Mixture of Sand Ntwrn Nwrn Ntwrn Nrn Nwrn
Tailing and
Overburden
4 Mixture of Sand Tailing S3twrn S3wrn S3twrn S3rn S3wrn
and Overburden with
Vegetation
5 Sand Tailing from Ntwrn Nwrn Ntwrn Nrn Nwrn
Unconventional Mining
6 Overburden from Ntwrn Nwrn Ntwrn Nrn Nwrn
Unconventional Mining
Suitability Ratings: S1= Highly suitable, S2 = Moderately suitable, S3= Marginally suitable, N = Not suitable.
Limitations: tc = temperature, wa = water availability (precipitation, RH), rc = rooting media (texture), nr = nutrient
retention (CEC, BS, pH, Organic C), na = nutrient availability (N, P, K)

Table 6. Rating for limitations and suitability of abandoned tin-mining land for vegetable crop
Abandoned Tin-Mining Vegetable
Land Red Chili Mustard Longbean Cucumber Eggplant
(Capsicum (Brassica (Vigna (Cucumis (Solanum
annuumL.) chinensis sinensisL.) sativus L.) melongenaL.)
L.)
1 Sand Tailing Nwrn Ntwrn Ntwrn Nwrn Ntwrn
2 Sand Tailing with Nwrn Ntwrn Ntwrn Nwrn Ntwrn
Vegetation
3 Mixture of Sand Tailing Nwrn Ntwrn Ntwrn Nwrn Ntwrn
and Overburden
4 Mixture of Sand Tailing S3wrn S3twrn S3twrn S3wrn S3twrn
and Overburden with
Vegetation
5 Sand Tailing from Nwrn Ntwrn Ntwrn Nwrn Ntwrn
Unconventional Mining
6 Overburden from Nwrn Ntwrn Ntwrn Nwrn Ntwrn
Unconventional Mining
Suitability Ratings: S1= Highly suitable, S2 = Moderately suitable, S3= Marginally suitable, N = Not suitable.
Limitations: tc = temperature, wa = water availability (precipitation, RH), rc = rooting media (texture), nr = nutrient
retention (CEC, BS, pH, Organic C), na = nutrient availability (N, P, K)

Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management 912

Land suitability evaluation of abandoned tin-mining areas for agricultural development

Table 7. Rating for limitations and suitability of abandoned tin-mining land for fruit crop
Abandoned Tin-Mining Land Fruit
Papaya Banana Citrus Mango Rambutan Watermelon Melon Pineapple
(Carica (Musa (Citrus (Mangifera (Nephelium (Citrullus (Cucumisme (Ananas
papaya acuminate aurantium indica lappaceun lanatus(Thunb.) lovar. comosus
L.) Colla) L.) L.) L.) Matsum reticulatus) Merr)
1 Sand Tailing Nwrn Nrn Nrn Nwrn Nrn Nwrn Nwrn Ntwrn
2 Sand Tailing with Vegetation Nwrn Nrn Nrn Nwrn Nrn Nwrn Nwrn Ntwrn
3 Mixture of Sand Tailing and Nwrn Nrn Nrn Nwrn Nrn Nwrn Nwrn Ntwrn
Overburden
4 Mixture of Sand Tailing and S3wrn S3rn S2rn S3wrn S3rn S3wrn S3wrn S3twrn
Overburden with Vegetation
5 Sand Tailing from Nwrn Nrn Nrn Nwrn Nrn Nwrn Nwrn Ntwrn
Unconventional Mining
6 Overburden from Nwrn Nrn Nrn Nwrn Nrn Nwrn Nwrn Ntwrn
Unconventional Mining
Suitability Ratings: S1= Highly suitable, S2 = Moderately suitable, S3= Marginally suitable, N = Not suitable. Limitations: tc = temperature, wa = water availability (precipitation, RH),
rc = rooting media (texture), nr = nutrient retention (CEC, BS, pH, Organic C), na = nutrient availability (N, P, K)

Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management 913

Land suitability evaluation of abandoned tin-mining areas for agricultural development

Table 8. Rating for limitations and suitability of abandoned tin-mining land for industrial crop
Abandoned Tin-Mining Industrial
Land Rubber Coconut Palm Oil Cacao
(Havea (Cocos (Elaeis (Theobroma
brassiliensis niciferaL.) guineensisJacq.) cacao L.)
Muell. Arg)
1 Sand Tailing Nwrn Nrn Nrn Nwrn
2 Sand Tailing with Vegetation Nwrn Nrn Nrn Nwrn
3 Mixture of Sand Tailing and Nwrn Nrn Nrn Nwrn
Overburden
4 Mixture of Sand Tailing and S3wrn S3rn S3rn S3wrn
Overburden with Vegetation
5 Sand Tailing from Nwrn Nrn Nrn Nwrn
Unconventional Mining
6 Overburden from Nwrn Nrn Nrn Nwrn
Unconventional Mining
Suitability Ratings: S1= Highly suitable, S2 = Moderately suitable, S3= Marginally suitable, N = Not suitable.
Limitations: tc = temperature, wa = water availability (precipitation, RH), rc = rooting media (texture), nr = nutrient
retention (CEC, BS, pH, Organic C), na = nutrient availability (N, P, K)

In general, spice and medicinal crops [pepper
(Piper nigrum L.) and citronella (Andropogoh
nardus L. Rendle)] were consider as not suitable
(N), except the mixture of sand tailing and
overburden with vegetation was considered as
marginally suitable (S3), while the Jatropha
(Jatropha curcas L.) and Kemiri Sunan
(Aleurites moluccana L. Willd) crops were
considered as marginally suitable (S3) in
abandoned tin-mining areas (Table 9). The
forest crops and forage crops were considered as
marginally suitable (S3) in abandoned tin-
mining areas (Tables 10 and 11).

Table 9. Rating for limitations and suitability of abandoned tin-mining land for spice and medicinal crop
Abandoned Tin-Mining Spice And Medicinal Crop
Land Pepper Citronella Jatropha Kemiri Sunan
(Piper (Andropogoh (Jatropha (AleuritesmoluccanaL.
nigrum L.) nardus L. curcas L.) Willd)
Rendle)
1 Sand Tailing Nrn Ntwrn S3wrn S3wrn
2 Sand Tailing with Nrn Ntwrn S3wrn S3wrn
Vegetation
3 Mixture of Sand Tailing Nrn Ntwrn S3wrn S3wrn
and Overburden
4 Mixture of Sand Tailing S3rn S3twrn S3wrn S3wrn
and Overburden with
Vegetation
5 Sand Tailing from Nrn Ntwrn S3wrn S3wrn
Unconventional Mining
6 Overburden from Nrn Ntwrn S3wrn S3wrn
Unconventional Mining
Suitability Ratings: S1= Highly suitable, S2 = Moderately suitable, S3= Marginally suitable, N = Not suitable.
Limitations: tc = temperature, wa = water availability (precipitation, RH), rc = rooting media (texture), nr = nutrient
retention (CEC, BS, pH, Organic C), na = nutrient availability (N, P, K)

Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management 914

Land suitability evaluation of abandoned tin-mining areas for agricultural development

Table 10. Rating for limitations and suitability of abandoned tin-mining land for forest crop
Abandoned Tin-Mining Land Forest Crop
Sengon Acacia Magahony Pinus
(Albizia (Acacia (Swietenia (Pinus
falcataria mangium mahagoniL. merkusiiJungh.)
L.) Willd) Jacq.)
1 Sand Tailing S3wrn S3rn S3rn Ntwrn
2 Sand Tailing with Vegetation S3wrn S3rn S3rn Ntwrn
3 Mixture of Sand Tailing and S3wrn S3rn S3rn Ntwrn
Overburden
4 Mixture of Sand Tailing and S3wrn S3n S3rn Ntwn
Overburden with Vegetation
5 Sand Tailing from S3wrn S3rn S3rn Ntwrn
Unconventional Mining
6 Overburden from Unconventional S3wrn S3rn S3rn Ntwrn
Mining
Suitability Ratings: S1= Highly suitable, S2 = Moderately suitable, S3= Marginally suitable, N = Not suitable.
Limitations: tc = temperature, wa = water availability (precipitation, RH), rc = rooting media (texture), nr = nutrient
retention (CEC, BS, pH, Organic C), na = nutrient availability (N, P, K)

Table 11. Rating for limitations and suitability of abandoned tin-mining land for forage crop
Abandoned Tin-Mining Land Forage
Elephant Grass Setaria Grass Leguminose
(Pennisetum (Setaria (Leguminose sp)
purpureumSchum.) spachelata
Schum.)
1 Sand Tailing S3wrn S3wrn S3wrn
2 Sand Tailing with Vegetation S3wrn S3wrn S3wrn
3 Mixture of Sand Tailing and S3wrn S3wrn S3wrn
Overburden
4 Mixture of Sand Tailing and S3wrn S3wrn S3wrn
Overburden with Vegetation
5 Sand Tailing from Unconventional S3wrn S3wrn S3wrn
Mining
6 Overburden from Unconventional S3wrn S3wrn S3wrn
Mining
Suitability Ratings: S1= Highly suitable, S2 = Moderately suitable, S3= Marginally suitable, N = Not suitable.
Limitations: tc = temperature, wa = water availability (precipitation, RH), rc = rooting media (texture), nr = nutrient
retention (CEC, BS, pH, Organic C), na = nutrient availability (N, P, K)

for food, vegetable, fruit, industrial, spice and

Potential suitability of different abandoned tin-
mining soils
Based on the current limitations and suitability
ratings of the abandoned tin-mining areas grown
to food, vegetable, fruit, industrial, spice and
medicinal, forest, and forage crops, these
abandoned tin-mining areas were individually
reassessed with the assumption that soil
management technologies and practices being
offered for each of the abandoned tin-mining
areas were implemented. Table 12 summarizes the
potential suitability of abandoned tin-mining areas
medicinal, forest, and forage crop. Table 12
shows that sand tailing, sand tailing with
vegetation, and mixture of sand tailing and
overburden are marginally suitable (S3) for spice
and medicinal crops forestry trees, and forage
crops. Mixture of sand tailing and overburden
with vegetation is highly suitable (S1) for acacia;
moderately suitable (S2) for citrus, spice and
medicinal crops [pepper (Piper nigrum L.) and
kemiri sunan (Aleurites moluccana L. Willd)],
forest trees [sengon (Albizia falcataria L.) and
mahogany (Swietenia mahagoni L. Jacq.)]; and

Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management 915

Land suitability evaluation of abandoned tin-mining areas for agricultural development

marginally suitable (S3) for food crops, vegetable from unconventional mining are moderately
crops, fruit crops, industrial crop, spice and suitable (S2) for Sengon and Acacia, and
medicinal crops and forage crops. Sand tailing marginally suitable (S3) for spice and medicinal
from unconventional mining and Overburden crops forestry trees, and forage crops

Table 12. Potential suitability of abandoned tin-mining soils for food, vegetable, fruit, industrial, spice
and medicinal, forest, and forage crops
Abandoned Tin-Mining Highly Moderate Marginal
Areas Suitability Suitability Suitability
S1 S2 S3
Sand Tailing - - 1.Jatropha, Kemiri Sunan
2.Sengon, Acacia, Mahogany
3.Elephant Grass, Setaria Grass. Leguminose
Sand Tailing with - - 1.Jatropha, Kemiri Sunan
Vegetation 2.Sengon, Acacia, Mahogany
3.Elephant Grass, Setaria Grass,Leguminose
Mixture of Sand Tailing - - 1.Jatropha, Kemiri Sunan
and Overburden 2.Sengon, Acacia, Mahogany
3.Elephant Grass, Setaria Grass, Leguminose
Mixture of Sand Tailing Acacia Citrus 1.Corn, Cassava, Sweet Potato, Taro, Peanut
and Overburden with Pepper 2.Red Chili, Mustard, Longbean, Cucumber,
Vegetation Kemiri Sunan Eggplant
Sengon 3.Papaya, Banana, Mango, Rambutan,
Mahogany Watermelon, Melon, Pineapple
4.Rubber, Coconut, Palm Oil, Cacao
5.Citronella, Jatropha
6.Elephant Grass, Setaria Grass, Leguminose
Sand Tailing from - Sengon 1.Jatropha, Kemiri Sunan,
Unconventional Mining Acacia 2.Mahogany
3.Elephant Grass, Setaria Grass, Leguminose
Overburden from - Sengon 1.Jatropha, Kemiri Sunan,
Unconventional Mining Acacia 2.Mahogany
3.Elephant Grass, Setaria Grass, Leguminose

Integrated farming system in abandoned tin- materials. It means that the system can then
mining areas improve the quality of abandoned tin-mining
soils, reduce the use of chemical fertilizers (Gupta
Based on land evaluation, most crops developed
et al., 2012).
in abandoned tin-mining areas were categorized as
Based on potential suitability, IFS in
marginally suitable (S3); some were moderately
abandoned tin-mining areas is divided into three
suitable (S2). This indicates that abandoned tin-
types, namely: Type A, Type B, and Type C
mining areas are not an ideal growth medium
(Table 12).Type A is a group of (1) sand tailing,
because of poor soil physical and chemical
(2) sand tailing with vegetation, and (3) mixture
properties. For agricultural development, the soil
of sand tailing and overburden. Type B is a
physical and chemical properties of abandoned tin
mixture of sand tailing and overburden with
mining must be improved through integrated
vegetation. Type C is a group of (1) Sand tailing
farming system (IFS). IFS itself uses internal
from unconventional mining and (2) Overburden
input that combines crop and livestock. In the IFS,
from unconventional mining. The lands of Type A
the biomass produced can directly be used as
will be dominated by tree crops; Type B will be
materials for organic fertilizer and it can also be
dominated by fruit crops, legume cover crops, and
used as feed for ruminant. The manure from the
vegetable crops; and Type C will be dominated by
ruminant can then be used as organic fertilizer
both tree and fruit crops.

Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management 916

Land suitability evaluation of abandoned tin-mining areas for agricultural development
Conclusion
Abandoned tin-mining lands have low soil
fertility status as indicated by domination of sand
fraction and low soil pH, organic carbon, cation
exchange capacity, and essential macro nutrients.
Evaluation results showed that in general food
crops, vegetable crops, fruit crops, and industrial
crops were consider as not suitable (N). The water
availability, soil texture and low soil fertility were
considered as the limiting factors of all crops to
get optimum production. In general, spice and
medicinal crops [pepper (Piper nigrum L.) and
citronella (Andropogoh nardus L. Rendle)] were
consider as not suitable (N).The forest crops and
forage crops were considered as marginally
suitable (S3) in abandoned tin-mining areas.For
agricultural development, the soil physical and
chemical properties of abandoned tin-mining land
must be improved through integrated farming
system (IFS). Based on potential suitability, IFS
in abandoned tin-mining areas are divided into
three types. Type A is a group of (1) sand tailing,
(2) sand tailing with vegetation, and (3) mixture
of sand tailing and overburden. Type B is a
mixture of sand tailing and overburden with
vegetation. Type C is a group of (1) Sand tailing
from unconventional mining and (2) Overburden
from unconventional mining.
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JOURNAL OF DEGRADED AND MINING LANDS MANAGEMENT
ISSN: 2339-076X (p); 2502-2458 (e), Volume 4, Number 4 (July 2017): 919-926
DOI:10.15243/jdmlm.2017.044.919

Research Article

Yield response of ten varieties of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L.)

cultivated on dryland in rainy season
Akbar Saitama1*, Agung Nugroho2, Eko Widaryanto2
1
Postgraduate Program, Faculty of Agriculture, Brawijaya University, Jl. Veteran, Malang 65145, Indonesia
2
Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, Brawijaya University, Jl. Veteran, Malang 65145, Indonesia
*corresponding author: akbar.saitama@ymail.com
Received 11 April 2017, Accepted 11 June 2017

Abstract: Sweet potato is a tuber commodity and one of alternative crops in Indonesia. The demand of
sweet potato in Indonesia continues to increase. However, the supply of sweet potatoes for consumption
estimated is 2020 in Indonesia will be deficit. Low production of sweet potato is basically due to the
decrease of land area as cultivation production and also sweet potatoes have a low yield when planted in
rainy season. Based on the high utilization of sweet potato make demand for this commodities continues
to increase.Therefore, several strategies to increase crop yields of sweet potato needs to be done. This
study aimed to elucidate various sweet potato varieties that can cultivated on dry land in the rainy season.
This study was conducted from November 2016 until March 2017 using a randomized block design with
treatments of ten varieties of sweet potato consisting of (V1) Papua Solossa variety, (V2) Jago variety,
(V3) Kidal variety, (V4) Antin-1variety, (V5) Sari variety, (V6) Sawentar variety, (V7) Beta-2variety,
(V8) Antin-2variety, (V9) Antin-3 variety, (V10) Beta-1variety. The results showed different responses of
each variety.The vegetative growth was high as shown by the LAI value of 7.23 at 90 days after planting.
In conclusion, the sweet potato leaves had to be prune to boost the agronomic yield. Yields of ten
varieties of sweet potato crops ranged from 8.86 to 44.76 t/ha. Some varieties such as Sari, Papua Salosa
and Beta-2 varieties showed high yield although they were planted in moorland conditions in the rainy
season.
Keywords: dry land, rainy season, sweet potato, varieties, yield
To cite this article: Saitama, A., Nugroho, A. and Widaryanto, E. 2017. Yield response of ten varieties of sweet
potato (Ipomoea batatas L.). J. Degrade. Min. Land Manage. 4 (4): 919-926, DOI:10.15243/jdmlm.2017.044.919

Introduction in 2016. Based on this data, sweet potato

Sweet potato as a food commodity, shows its
position increase to fulfill national food
sufficiency. This is not only due to the nutrient
contents, minerals and vitamins, but also the high
utilization of the tuber varieties. Sweet potato
tubers can be directly processed into various food
forms and they can be processed for industrial raw
materials such as flour, sugar syrup, cosmetic
ingredients, ethanol and alcohol (Warhamni,
2013). Production of sweet potato nationally
continued to decrease from 2011 to 2016 while
the reduction in production had reached 50,000
ton per year. Otherwise, the productivity of sweet
potato in 2011 increased from 12 t/ha to 17 t/ ha
cultivation has problems related to constriction of
field production that can be seen from the
production decline. Sweet potato harvest area in
the world for the last five years showed a decrease
of 1.14% per year with an average harvest area of
11.54 million hectares. The potential of some
varieties of sweet potato actually is more than the
national average productivity where the high yield
of varieties sweet potato production can reach
over 30 t/ha. The high utilization and reduced
production of these tubers caused demand for
sweet potato continues to increase. Kementan RI
(2016) stated the demand for root crops from
2011 to 2016 continued to increase approximately
200,000 ton per years and demand for sweet

www.jdmlm.ub.ac.id 919
Yield response of ten varieties of sweet potato cultivated on dryland in rainy season
potato nationally from 2017 to 2020 will increase
around 4.88% each year. Therefore, several
strategies to increase sweet potato yield needs to
be done.
Crop production is influenced by genetic and
environmental factors (Gonggo et al., 2008).
Production on the sweet potato highly depends on
the varieties and environmental conditions such as
soil conditions, precipitation and solar radiation
(Tsuno and Fujise, 1965). One of the matters that
led to the low production of formation sweet
potato tuber is due to high growth on plant
vegetative hence soil conditions and heavy
rainfall (Mwololo et al., 2012). In the dry season,
sweet potato crops can be planted in paddy fields
by using surface irrigation, while in the rainy
season sweet potato will be well cultivated on
moorland with rain fed irrigation systems
although the sweet potato will have high
vegetative phase so that the tuber formation will
be obstructed (Dukuh, 2011).
Laurie et al. (2013), Sweet potatoes have a
high varieties, which each varieties have different
morphological characteristics such as leaves,
stems and tubers. The productivity of each
varieties will be different even in the same
environmental conditions. Therefore, the selection
of suitable sweet potato varieties, that to be
planted based on environmental conditions is very
important (Trustinah dan Iswanto, 2014).
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the
yield response of ten varieties of sweet potato
grown in moorland during the rainy season, to
conclude the recommendation of which varieties
that suitable to land and environmental conditions
and determine the actions of management for
moorland cultivation in the rainy season.
Materials and Methods
This research was conducted on October 2016
until January 2017 which located in
Agrotechnopark Brawijaya University, Jatikerto
Village, Sub district Kromengan, Malang, East
Java at altitude of 303 meters above sea level. The
average rainfall of the area ranges from 100 to
1600 mm per year with temperature of 16 to 31oC.
This research used a factorial randomized block
design with ten treatments consisting of : (V1)
Papua Solossa variety, (V2) Jago variety, (V3)
Kidal variety, (V4) Antin-1 variety, (V5) Sari
variety, (V6) Sawentar variety, (V7) Beta-2
variety, (V8) Antin-2 variety, (V9) Antin-3
variety, (V10) Beta-1 variety. Each treatment in
this study was repeated three times. Length of
total plot was 355 cm, height 40 cm, width 40 cm,
and the distance between rows 30 cm. The stages
of this research were land preparation, planting,
Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management
irrigation, fertilization (Urea, SP36 and KCL),
reversal stem, shoots pruning, weeding, soil piling
up and harvesting. This research observations
consisted of leaf area, leaf area index (LAI), total
plant dry weight and harvest yield. The LAI was
calculated using Regazzoni et al. (2014) formula
of LAI =LA/GA, where LAI = Leaf area index,
LA = Leaf Area, GA = Ground Area. Ground area
is shaded of leaf area. The yield obtained from
calculating the beds of tile. Harvest bed tile
consisted of 6 plants, with area of harvest bed was
210 cm x 60 cm= 1.26 m2. Calculation of the
yield used the following formula: Yield (t/ha) =
[(10000/scale of sampling plot) x yield of
sampling plot].
Results and Discussion
Soil condition
The research was located at the Agro Techno Park
Brawijaya University, Jatikerto village,
Kromengan, East Java. Before being used for this
research, land area was planted with long green
bean. Land was dry land (moor), which rely to
rain-fed irrigation for water sources. The study
was conducted from November 2016 to March
2017 as the months are classified for rainy season.
Based on the soil analysis, soil of the study area is
classified as a sandy clay loam texture soil with
pH 6,8, C-organic 1.67%, total N 0.18%, C/N 9,
P 11.27 mg/kg, K 0.65 me/100g and base
saturation of 82%.
Leaf area
Leaf area becomes a parameter that is directly
related to the plant growth parameters. The
observations of plant leaf area on this study were
presented in Table 3. Sweet potato leaf area on the
age of 45 days after planting (DAP) ranged from
408.75cm2 to 1118.81 cm2 (Table 1). The results
of leaf area observation at 90 DAP gained sweet
potato leaf area that ranged from 5948.83cm2 to
12419.25 cm2. The leaf areas of Sari and Beta-2
varieties of 5948.83 cm2and 7982.69 cm2,
respectively, at 90 DAP were not significantly
different. Leaf area at 120 DAP ranged from
3953.21 cm2 to 9982.71 cm2.
Results of the study indicated that each
varietiy showed different performance on leaf
area. Each of the varieties grown had different
leaf characteristics. Variety testing is part of
genetic studies that will show responses in
physiological and agronomic environment. Leaf
area is a determinant factor of sweet potato plant
to adapt on the environmental conditions. The
sweet potato varieties planted on dry land (moor)
920
Yield response of ten varieties of sweet potato cultivated on dryland in rainy season

in rainy seasons showed the leaf area growth
continuously. Persistent leaves growth constantly
feared will make the process of tuber formation in
sweet potato crops were not happen (Dubois et al.,
2013). Isa et al., (2015) stated if the vegetative
growth was very high and no pruning treatment,
sweet potato tubers would be difficult to form and
obstruct the process of tuber formation. The low
production occurs due to the growth phase is
dominated by sweet potato vegetative growth of
the upper leaves and stems are excessive along
with the lack of tuber formation.

Table 1. Leaf area of ten sweet potato varieties

Varieties Leaf Area (cm2/plant)
45 DAP 90 DAP 120 DAP
Papua Salosa 1133.56 b 10793.04 b 5874,98 bc
Jago 698.92 ab 12002.09 b 7677,84 de
Kidal 1051.07 b 10676.85 b 7057,46 cd
Antin-1 1035.76 b 11758.55 b 7392,03 cd
Sari 408.75 a 5948.83 a 3953,21 a
Sawentar 1118.81 b 10769.71 b 7172,18 cd
Beta-2 493.47 a 7982.69 a 4498,00 ab
Antin-2 970.56 b 11996.67 b 9982,71 f
Antin-3 1103.35 b 12419.25 b 9310,04 ef
Beta-1 983.60 b 12070.13 b 9316,76 ef
LSD 5% 467.53 2460.11 1736.61
CV (%) 30.29 13.48 14.01
Description: Numbers followed by the same letter at the same column show no significant different in LSD test at 5%
level. DAP: days after planting.

Therefore, photosynthate left is only few for
tubers development. If vegetative and
reproductive phases are in balance, the
accumulation of photosynthate will be balance as
well. The plants with moderate vegetative growth
will have many tubers. In this research, shoot
pruning at 90 DAP decreased leaf area from 90
to120 days after planting. Pruning was aimed to
reduce leaf buds or young leaves to stop the
growth of plant leaves. According to Van An and
Lindberg (2003), the effect of shoot pruning on
sweet potato plant is to reduce the leaf
growththerefore, the assimilates will be
distributed to generative organs while in sweet
potato, it will distributed to the tubers.
Leaf area index
Leaf Area Index (LAI) observations on the study
are displayed in Table 2. Leaf area index at
45dapobservation had value between 1.2 and 3.62
per plant. The leaf area index of sweet potato
observed at 90 DAP had values between 4.40 and
7.23 per plant, at the age of 120 DAP had values
between 3.15 and 4.67 per plant. LAI value of
Beta-2 variety was 3.15 per plant, the results were
not significantly different from the Sari, Sawentar,
Jago and Kidal varieties. Beta-2 variety had lower
LAI value of 31.43% than that of Papua Salosa
variety. Otherwise, the difference LAI of Beta-2
of 35.87%was lower than Antin-1 variety. Beta-2
variety had lower LAI ranging from 41.90 to
48.25% when compared to Antin-3, Antin-2 and
Beta-1 varieties. Papua Salosa, Jago, Kidal,
Antin-1, Antin-2, Antin-3 and Beta-1 varieties
had leaf area indexes that were not significantly
different from 3.81 until 4.67 per plant. Antin-2
and Beta-1 varieties having higher LAI value up
to 32.55% compared to other varieties.
LAI differences in sweet potato plants is
influenced by the main factor, which is each
varieties of sweet potato have different
morphological characters, especially the shape
and size of the leaves that could affect LAI in
sweet potatoes (Tsialtas et al., 2008), Sweet
potato have optimum LAI around 3 to 4 (Tsuno
and Fujise, 1963).The leaf area index (LAI) at 90
DAP was high and almost reach more than 7.
High LAI will cause the difficulty in generative
organs formation. It is caused the photosyntathe
are focused in formation of vegetative organs,
especially on leaves. High LAI were affected by
some factors such as; the high of leaf area and
number of leaves, therefore it will be found many
overlapping leaves. Agata and Takeda (1982),
high LAI on sweet potato plant will not impact
positively on tuber formation.

Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management 921

Yield response of ten varieties of sweet potato cultivated on dryland in rainy season

Table 2. Leaf area index of ten sweet potato varieties

Varieties Leaf Area Index Observations Period (DAP)
45 90 120
Papua Salosa 2.36 abc 7.13 bc 4,14 bcd
Jago 1.43 a 5.89 b 3,91 abcd
Kidal 2.16 ab 6.61 bc 3,81 abcd
Antin-1 2.85 bc 7.14 bc 4,28 cd
Sari 1.20 a 4.43 a 3,28 ab
Sawentar 2.74 bc 7.23 c 3,65 abc
Beta-2 1.31 a 4.40 a 3,15 a
Antin-2 3.29 bc 6.91 bc 4,66 d
Antin-3 3.62 c 6.80 bc 4,47 cd
Beta-1 2.87 bc 7.06 bc 4,67 d
LSD 5% 1.26 1.32 0.91
CV (%) 30.92 12.07 13.39
Description: Numbers followed by the same letter at the same column show no significant different in LSD test at 5%
level. DAP: days after planting.

Dry weight to that of 30 DAP increased from 18.03 to

23.30%. Sweet potato crop was harvested when
Total dry weight of the sweet potato that was
the plant was entering 120 DAP. Total plant dry
observed at 45 dap ranged from14.85 to 44.40 g
weight at 120 DAP was on average range from
per plant. Dry weights of the sweet potato that
168.10 until 409.04 g per plant. The percentage of
was observed at 90 dap 72.28 to 115,03 g per
plants partition at harvest time (120 DAP) showed
plant. Total partition of plant dry weight at 90
that the partitioning dry weight in the leaves
DAP (which entered the generative phase of 10
ranged from 2.53 to 21.23% (Figure 2). Partitions
varieties that focused on the stem ranged from
on stem ranged from 5.55 to 34.50%, and
41.12 to 46.18% (Figure 1). The partition of leaf
partitions on root and tuber ranged from 44.28 to
dry weight ranged from 34.15 to 37.10%.The
91.92% (Figure 2).
partition of root dry weight at 90 DAP compared

100%
90%
80% 35,93 31,64 31,42 31,14 40,50 35,03 40,02 32,33 33,42 30,02
70%
% Partitioning

60%
50% 39,89 39,60 40,16 40,80
37,48 40,61 40,33 36,67
40% 35,58 35,88
30%
20%
10% 26,59 27,74 28,25 28,97 23,92 28,29 24,11 28,07 26,42 29,17
0%

Leaf Stem Roots and Tubbers

Figure 1. Partitioning dry weight of ten sweet potato varieties at 90 days after planting

Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management 922

Yield response of ten varieties of sweet potato cultivated on dryland in rainy season

100%
90%
80% 44,28
70% 53,56 49,03
% Partitioning
63,79 66,63
60% 84,03 80,66 81,45
91,92 88,76
50%
40% 34,50
30% 27,02 29,74
24,36 16,18
20%
9,91 10,99 21,22 8,49
10%
11,85 5,55 10,06 7,29 19,42 21,23 17,20
6,06 8,35 2,53 3,96
0%

Leaf Stem Roots and Tubbers

Figure 2. Partitioning dry weight of ten sweet potato varieties at 120 days after planting

In the early plant growth phase of sweet potato,
plant dry weight partitioning focused on shoot
zone. This partition occured until 90 dap and the
condition of partition of plant dry weight was not
significantly different. When vegetative phase
occurred, plant dry weight was going to focus on
the stem (tendril) and leaves. Partitioning
photosynthate is mostly going to the plant canopy,
especially stem tissue. It causes photosynthate
quantity for root growth in root tissue becomes
small. This conditions cause dry weight of canopy
and stem become high while root dry weight
becomes small. Dry weight of canopy is
determined by the growth rate of stems, and the
stem growth rate is positively affected by the rate
of leaf initiation (Clough and Miltthorpe, 1975).
Dry weight of stem is influenced by number of
leaves that formed. Sanoussi et al., (2016) stated
that partition of sweet potato crop dry weight at
the vegetative growth would show the highest on
the leaves and stems, when generative phase, the
partition of the dry weight would be highest on
tubers. On the harvest time, partition of sweet
potato tuber could reach 90% of the total plant dry
weight. A study conducted by Madhu and
Hatfield (2016), showed that dry weight
partitioning at the age of 44 dap could reach 55%
on the leaves, 35% on the stems, and 10% on the
root. While the plants in the process of tubers
fillings before harvest partition. The tuber dry
weight could reach 45.9% of the total plant dry
weight

Table 3. Total dry weight of ten sweet potato varieties

Varieties Dry Weight (g/plant)
45 DAP 90 DAP 120 DAP
Papua Salosa 35.17 cd 92.73 abc 374,06 de
Jago 28.22 bc 95.43 bc 202,50 ab
Kidal 38.82 cd 102.72 c 303,27 cd
Antin-1 41.66 d 98.61 c 168,10 a
Sari 15.99 ab 72.28 a 409,04 e
Sawentar 39.36 cd 74.83 ab 263,04 bc
Beta-2 14.85 a 99.45 c 320,25 cd
Antin-2 38.65 cd 104.46 c 187,52 ab
Antin-3 34.43 cd 110.17 c 153,54 a
Beta-1 44.40 d 115.03 c 248,38 bc
LSD 5% 13.50 22.68 77.05
CV (%) 22.95 13.69 17.08
Description: Numbers followed by the same letter at the same column show no significant different in LSD test at 5%
level. DAP: days after planting.

Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management 923

Yield response of ten varieties of sweet potato cultivated on dryland in rainy season
Harvest yield
The harvest yield of ten varieties of sweet potato
in the study showed that Antin-1, Antin-3, Antin-
2, Jago, Beta-1, Sawentar, Kidal, Beta-2, Papua
Salosa, and Sari varieties could produce 8.86,
8.96, 11.96, 15.38, 19.70, 24.51, 29.12, 33.84,
37,42, and 44.76 t/ha, respectively (Figure 3). The
yield of Antin-1 variety was not significantly
different with yields of Antin-2, Antin-3 and Jago
varieties. Antin-1variety had 122.35% lower
Figure 3. Yields of ten sweet potato varieties
This study was conducted in the rainy season with
dry land category (moor), which is known that if
sweet potato is planted in the rainy season it will
have a long vegetative phase (Dukuh, 2011) The
number of tubers per plant is potential sink. There
is a relationship between the number of tubers per
plant with a total weight of tubers, the more
number of tubers per plant, the lower weight of
the tuber. This suggests that assimilates (source)
translocated to tuber (sink) formation were limited
because parts of assimilate were translocated to
the stem. Translocation of assimilates is mostly
shipped to the tuber. The amount of assimilates
transported and stored as a backup food
determines the weight of tubers per plant. Small
amount of assimilates will make tuber weight per
plant smaller, whereas if the number of
assimilates is high, it will increase the weight of
tubers per plant. Low yield in tuber plant
production is caused by the plant itself which is
dominated by vegetative growth. This makes
leaves and stems are growing excessively and
lacking of tuber formation because there are few
Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management
productivity compared to Beta-1 variety, 187.92%
lower than Sawentar variety, 228.67% lower than
Kidal variety, 281.94% lower than Beta-2 variety,
322.35% lower than Papua Salosa variety, and
405.19% lower than Sari variety. Sari and Papua
Salosa varieties were not significantly different.
Sari variety had four times higher productivity
compared with Antin-1, Antin-2 and Antin- 3
varieties.
carbohydrate left for tuber formation (Panggabean
et al., 2014). If vegetative and reproductive phases
are in balance, usage and accumulation are in
balance as well, practically assimilates that are
used and stored will be in balance (Zhu and Jiang,
2014). Plants having moderate vegetative growth
will have many roots. Modification of plant
growth physiologically is one effort to overcome
the low production of sweet potato by controlling
vegetative growth. There are morphologically
modification efforts through agronomic ways such
as the use of growth regulators to maintaining the
balance of vegetative and generative growth,so
the utilization assimilate by vegetative could be in
control and most assimilates could be distributed
into the sink (Rahmiana et al., 2015). Agronomic
maintenance such as reversal plant canopy,
pruning leaves and shoots are effective in
modifying plant morphology (Esmaielpour et al.,
2011). In this study, reversal plant canopy of
sweet potato and shoots pruning were done at 90
DAP. The purpose of the reversal was to form the
tubers. The influence of leaf reduction on growth
924
Yield response of ten varieties of sweet potato cultivated on dryland in rainy season
and yield of crops depends on the missing leaf
area, leaves posisiton on the stems, and crop-
growing period. Shoot pruning on sweet potato
that was done at 90 dappositively affected the
tuber formation on the ten varieties of sweet
potato. Dukuh (2011) stated that shoot pruning at
12 weeks after planting significantly affected the
tuber formation, especially the quality and
quantity of sweet potato tubers.Timing of shoot
pruning influence plant growth, especially the
sweet potato crop (Aniekwe, 2014). When shoot
pruning occurs on the vegetative phase it will
increase the vegetative organs, whereas if shoot
pruning occurs in late vegetative phase it will
accelerate the formation of generative organs that
in sweet potato it will be distributed to the tubers
(Nedunchezhiyan et al.,2012). Sulkan et al. (2014)
stated that the formation of sweet potato tubers
was influenced by formation of the roots on sweet
potato crop. Tuber formation begins when the
leaves begin to decline, in other words the growth
rate of leaves need to be inhibited. When the
sweet potato crop is planted in the rainy season it
will accelerate the process of formation sweet
potato tubers.
Conclusion
The response of each of ten sweet potato varieties
planted in dry land (moor) and rainy season
conditions showed differences. Some varieties
showed high responsive to the environment with
the components shown in vegetative growth
observations such as stems and leaves. This was
proved by the high vegetative growth at 90 days
after planting. Leaf area index (LAI) on sweet
potato had the optimum value when entered 90
dap, LAI of Sawentar variety showed value of
7.23, while varieties with limited LAI response
were Sari and Beta-2 varieties. To inhibit the
growth rate of vegetative organs, after 90 dap
sweet potato leaves need to be pruned. Sari and
Papua Salosa varieties had high yields. Shoot
pruning needs to be done to reduce the vegetative
growth of sweet potato planted in the rainy
season. Therefore, further studies are required to
establish ideal treatments about shoot pruning in
sweet potato.
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JOURNAL OF DEGRADED AND MINING LANDS MANAGEMENT
ISSN: 2339-076X (p); 2502-2458 (e), Volume 4, Number 4 (July 2017): 927-936
DOI:10.15243/jdmlm.2017.044.927

Research Article

Plant species from coal mine overburden dumping site in Satui, South
Kalimantan, Indonesia
Vivi Novianti1*, D.N. Choesin2, D.T. Iskandar2, D. Suprayogo3
1
Department of Biology, State University of Malang, Malang 65145, Indonesia
2
School of Life Sciences and Technology, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Bandung 40132, Indonesia
3
Faculty of Agriculture, Brawijaya University, Malang 65145, Indonesia
*
corresponding author: vivi.novianti.fmipa@um.ac.id
Received 28 April 2017, Accepted 22 June 2017

Abstract
Coal mine overburden (OB) materials were nutrient-poor, loosely adhered particles of shale, stones,
boulders, and cobbles, also contained elevated concentration of trace metals. This condition cause OB
substrate did not support plants growth. However, there were certain species that able to grow on
overburden dumping site. This investigation sought to identify plants species that presence on coal mine
overburden. The research was conducted on opencast coal mine OB dumping site in Satui, South
Kalimantan. Vegetation sampling was carried out on six different ages of coal mine OB dumps (7, 10, 11,
42, 59 and 64 month) using line transect. Species identification used information from local people,
AMDAL report of PT Arutmin Indonesia-Satui mine project, and website. There were 123 plant species,
consisted of 79 herbs (Cyperaceae, Poaceae and Asteraceae), 10 lianes, bryophyte, 9 ferns, 10 shrubs, and
14 trees. A number of Poaceae, i.e., Paspalum conjugatum, Paspalum dilatatum, and Echinochloa colona
generally present among the stones, boulders, and cobbles. While Cyperaceae such as Fimbristylis
miliaceae, Cyperus javanicus, Rhyncospora corymbosa and Scleria sumatrensis most often found in and
around the basin/pond with its smooth and humid substrate characteristics. Certain species of shrubs and
trees have been present on the 7 month OB dumping site. They were Chromolaena odorata, Clibadium
surinamense, Melastoma malabathricum, Trema micrantha, and Solanum torvum (Shrubs), Ochroma
pyramidale and Homalanthus populifolius (trees). This plant species could be used for accelerating
primary succession purpose on coal mine overburden dumping site. Nevertheless, species selection was
needed to avoid planting invasive species.
Keywords: accelerating, mining, overburden, plants, succession
To cite this article: Novianti, V., Choesin, D.N., Iskandar, D.T. and, D. Suprayogo, D. 2017. Plant species from coal
mine overburden dumping site in Satui, South Kalimantan, Indonesia. J. Degrade. Min. Land Manage. 4(4): 927-936,
DOI: 10.15243/jdmlm.2017.044.927.

Introduction 2004; Ghose, 2004). Furthermore, loss of soil

Ninety five percent coal mine in Indonesia using
opencast mining method (Gautama 2007;
Setianingprang and Riawan, 2008). The chief
environmental impacts of its practice are changes
in soil stratification, reduced biotic diversity, and
alteration of structure and functioning of
ecosystems; these changes ultimately influence
water and nutrient dynamics, and trophic
interactions (Matson et al., 1997; Almas et al.,
during stripping and stockpiling causes not all
mined areas will be recovered with soil during
revegetation (BPK, 2008). This area is known as
overburden (OB). Coal mine overburden is stone,
located above (referred to as roof rock) or
between (interburden) or below (floor rock) the
coal (Novianti, 2013). OB materials are nutrient-
poor, loosely adhered particles of shale, stones,
boulders, cobbles, and so forth (Gogoiet al., 2007;
Novianti, 2013). Mine OB materials also contain

www.jdmlm.ub.ac.id 927
Plant species from coal mine overburden dumping site in Satui, South Kalimantan, Indonesia
elevated concentrations of trace metals (Dobson et
al., 1997; Novianti, 2013). This character of
overburden is the reason why fast growing and
invasive species, such as Acacia mangium, is
planted on previously mined coal areas.
Therefore, reclamation approach to improve post-
coal mining land has not yet successful because
there is no implication of returning to an original
state and restore biodiversity but rather to a useful
one.
Overburden condition is identical to the
primary succession i.e. vegetation development on
newly formed or exposed substrate, proceeds on
raw material rather than a developed or modified
soil, and is usually characterized by low fertility,
no biological legacy (no previous vegetation, no
seed bank, no organic matter derived from prior
vegetation) (Glenn-Lewin et al., 1992). Hence,
ecologycal succession in a mine OB is a lengthy
process. A minimum period of ecologycal
succession is 50 years to a century to establish
advanced specic plant species in denuded, mine
OB-lled land; but this long time scales due to
specific problems can be overcome by artificial
interventions, that once identified, which are most
successful if they use or mimic natural process
(Dobson et al., 1997).
Local vegetation is one of the keys of this
process. This investigation sought to identify plant
species that present on coal mine OB dump. This
study will be helpful in giving references of coal
mine OB plant species in order to accelerate
ecological restoration on coal OB dumping site.
This research was conducted in Satui, South
Kalimantan. Kalimantan or also known as Borneo
Table 1. Characteristics of overburden dumping site as study area
No. Age of mine OB (month) High of OB dump
(m)
1 7 38.18
2 10 20.07
3 11 16.18
4 42 19.90
5 59 24.11
6 64 29.85
determination of coal mine OB is based of the following formula:
T = T2 T1
Annotation:
T = age of mine OB (month)
T2 = starting time of sampling vegetation (month and year)
T1 = time of final OB dump (month and year)
Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management
is host to a vast area of the country`s remaining
tropical rainforests where various endemic flora
and fauna can be found. Rainforests in the Heart
of Borneo also have a crucial function as the lungs
of the world because they produce oxygen needed
to help overcome the impact of climate change.
On the other hand, it contains nearly 60 percent of
Indonesias coal reserves where over exploitation
occur. Ecological restoration approach is thus
critical to be carried out in Kalimantan to restore
its biodiversity and ecosystem function.
Materials and Methods
Description of study area
The study was conducted at the mine site of PT.
Arutmin Indonesia (AI), Satui mine project in
South Kalimantan, Indonesia. Mining operational
and office area are located at a distance of 165
km Southeast of Banjarmasin.
Characteristics and determination of overburden
age as study area
Vegetation sampling area was carried out on out-
pit dump (overburden that dumped at dedicated
disposal site outside the mine pit), and without
leveled on its surface (free dump). Determination
of OB dumping site is based on the following
conditions: (1) no disposal process (final dump),
(2) the age of mine OB is known, (3) the origin
depth of OB is identified, and (4) geology
formation of OB is identified. According to that
requirement, there are six overburden used as
vegetation sampling location (Table 1).
Width of OB Dump Origin depth
(ha) (m asl)
2.68 30 s/d -80
2.06 30 s/d -80
3.66 30 s/d -80
7.09 30 s/d -80
2.14 30 s/d -80
11.87 30 s/d -80
928
Plant species from coal mine overburden dumping site in Satui, South Kalimantan, Indonesia
The origin depth and geological formation of coal
mine OB in each pile was obtained using
geological data belong to PT. Arutmin, Satui mine
project.
Vegetation sampling and species identification
Vegetation sampling was conducted using line
transect. The lenght of line transect following the
lenght of OB dump area that able to be reached. In
order to represent plant communities on coal mine
dumping site, the distance between transect are
made of 5 m while total line transect following the
width of dump area that can be accomplished
(Figure 1).
Figure 1. Ilustration of line transect in an OB
dump area
Segment sign is made in every five meter of line
transect to facilitate the process of sampling
(Figure 2). Each plant that exposed to the transect
line is recorded, documented (using camera) and
coded for further species identification through
local people, EIA report of PT. AI Satui Mine
Project, and website bellow:
1. http://www.nationalherbarium.nl/MacMalBor
neo/indonesian/index.htm
2. http://www.indonesianchm.or.id
3. http://www.biotrop.org/database.php?act=dbi
as&kategori=&paper=1
4. http://www.natureloveyou.sg/plants-D.html
5. http://www.iewf.org/weedid/All_common_na
me.htm
6. http://www.rimbundahan.org/environment/pl
ant_lists/dipterocarpaceae/index.htm
7. http://www.dld.go.th/nutrition/ANIMAL_NU
TRITION_DIVISION_files/Native_grass.htm
8. http://app.ctu.edu.vn/forum/viewtopic.php?p=
34293&sid=a6744de8ccd359178366065b38a
06346
Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management
9. http://app.ctu.edu.vn/forum/viewtopic.php?p=
78508&sid=70b76c420bff5faa564bd35
10. http://www.natres.psu.ac.th/Departement/Pla
ntScience/weed/weedinplantation.htm
11. http://www.plantamor.com
Figure 2. Segment on transect line
Results and Discussion
Typology of coal mine overburden
Stockpiles of overburden was like a hill. The top
of it consists of flat and uneven part (Figure 3).
The uneven section due to a number of OB
mounds so that its surface becomes undulating.
Therefore, it can be devided into three parts i.e.,
peak, slope and valley (Figure 4). The valley
formed by confluence of several OB mounds will
form a basin that will be filled water when rain
comes so that it resembles a pond. The size and
depth of basin are varies (Figure 5). This stagnant
water accelerates the destruction of boulder (>256
mm), cobble (64-256 mm), and gravel (2-4 mm)
develop into clay (1/256 mm). In contrast to
substrate that is not inundated by water still in the
form of boulder, cobble, and gravel for a longer
period of time. Eventually, the differences of
particel size and moisture played a role in
determining the types of plants which present on
coal mine OB dump. The compositions of
overburden substrate at six study sites are boulder,
pebble, cobble and gravel of clay stone.
According to PT. Arutmin Indonesia (2009),
Tanjung Formation in Satui Mine derived from
Eocene aged ( 50 million years).
Plants species on coal mine overburden dumping
site
Based on species identification on six overburden
dumps, there are 123 plants species consisting of
79 herbs (grass, sedge, and herbaceous flowering),
10 lianas, lichen, 9 ferns, 10 shrubs, and 14 trees
that able to grow on OB substrate (Table 2).
929
Plant species from coal mine overburden dumping site in Satui, South Kalimantan, Indonesia

Figure 3. Overburden stockpile was like a hill (A-B). The top of it comprises of flat (C) and uneven (D)

Figure 4. Illustration of undulating surface on coal mine OB dump (Source: Hairiah et al., 2000)

Figure 5. Some basins are formed by the confluence of OB mounds

Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management 930

Plant species from coal mine overburden dumping site in Satui, South Kalimantan, Indonesia

Table 2. Plants species and life form on six overburden dumps

No. Name Family Life span Class Age of overburden (month)
7 10 11 42 59 64
Herbs
1 Ageratum conyzoides Linn. Asteraceae Annual Magnoliopsida v v v
2 Andropogon aciculatus Retz. Poaceae Annual Liliopsida v
3 Andropogon chinensis (Ness) Merr. Poaceae Annual Liliopsida v
4 Blyxa japonica (Mix.) Maxim. Hydrocharitaceae Annual Liliopsida v
5 Celosia argentea Linn. Amaranthaceae Annual Magnoliopsida v v v
6 Cyperus babakans Steud. Cyperaceae Annual Liliopsida v v
7 Cyperus brevifolius (Rottb.) Hassk Cyperaceae Annual Liliopsida v
8 Cyperus compactus Retz. Cyperaceae Annual Liliopsida v v v v
9 Cyperus compressus Linn. Cyperaceae Annual Liliopsida v v
10 Cyperus difformis Linn. Cyperaceae Annual Liliopsida v v
11 Cyperus entrerianus Boeckl. Cyperaceae Annual Liliopsida v v
12 Cyperus halpan Linn. Cyperaceae Annual Liliopsida v v
13 Cyperus iria Linn. Cyperaceae Annual Liliopsida v v
14 Cyperus javanicus Houtt Cyperaceae Annual Liliopsida v v v v v
15 Cyperus kyllinga Endl. Cyperaceae Annual Liliopsida v v v v
16 Cyperus polystachyos Rottb. Cyperaceae Annual Liliopsida v v
17 Cyperus pulcherrimus Will. Ex. Kunth. Cyperaceae Annual Liliopsida v v
18 Cyperus pygmaeus Rottb. Cyperaceae Annual Liliopsida v
19 Cyperus sp.1 Cyperaceae Annual Liliopsida v
20 Cyperus sp.2 Cyperaceae Annual Liliopsida v
21 Cyperus sp.3 Cyperaceae Annual Liliopsida v v
22 Cyperus sp.4 Cyperaceae Annual Liliopsida v v
23 Cyperus sp.5 Cyperaceae Annual Liliopsida v
24 Cyperus sp.6 Cyperaceae Annual Liliopsida v
25 Axonopus compressus Poaceae Annual Liliopsida v
26 Cyperus sulcinux C. B. Clarke. Cyperaceae Annual Liliopsida v v v v v v
27 Demodium heterophyllum (Willd.) DC. Fabaceae Annual Liliopsida v
28 Echinochloa colona (Linn.) Link. Poaceae Annual Liliopsida v v v v v v
29 Eclipta prostrata Linn. Asteraceae Annual Magnoliopsida v
30 Eleusine indica (L.) Gaertn. Poaceae Annual Liliopsida v v v v v
31 Emilia sonchifolia (Lin.) DC. Asteraceae Annual Magnoliopsida v v v v
32 Eragrostis japonica (Thunb.) Trin. Poaceae Annual Liliopsida v v v v v

Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management 931

Plant species from coal mine overburden dumping site in Satui, South Kalimantan, Indonesia

No. Name Family Life span Class Age of overburden (month)

7 10 11 42 59 64
33 Eragrostis leptostachya (R. Br.) Steud. Poaceae Annual Liliopsida v
34 Eragrostis tenella (Linn.) P Beauv. Poaceae Annual Liliopsida v v v v v
35 Eragrostis unioloides (Retz.) Nees ex Steud. Poaceae Annual Liliopsida
36 Erechtites valerianifolia (Wollf) DC. Asteraceae Annual Magnoliopsida v v v
37 Eulophia graminae Lindl. Orchidaceae Annual Liliopsida v
38 Fimbristylis dichotoma (Linn.) Vahl. Cyperaceae Annual Liliopsida v v v v v v
39 Fimbristylis miliaceae (Linn.) Vahl. Cyperaceae Annual Liliopsida v v v v v v
40 Fimbristylis schoenoides (Retz.) Vahl. Cyperaceae Annual Liliopsida v v
41 Fimbristylis sp.1 Cyperaceae Annual Liliopsida v
42 Fimbristylis sp.2 Cyperaceae Annual Liliopsida v
43 Hyptis capitata Jacq. Lamiaceae Annual Magnoliopsida v v
44 Ipomoea aquatica Forsk. Convolvulaceae Annual Magnoliopsida v
45 Lindernia crustacea (Linn.) F.Muell. Scrophulariaceae Annual Magnoliopsida v v
46 Melochia corchorifolia Linn. Sterculiaceae Annual Magnoliopsida v v v
47 Mitracarpus hirtus (Linn.) DC Rubiaceae Annual Magnoliopsida v
48 Polygala paniculata Linn. Polygalaceae Annual Magnoliopsida v
49 Porophyllum ruderale (Jacq.) Cass. Asteraceae Annual Magnoliopsida v v v v v
50 Scleria bancana Miq. Cyperaceae Annual Liliopsida v
51 Scleria sumatrensis Retz. Cyperaceae Annual Liliopsida v v v v v v
52 Vernonia cinerea (L.) Less. Asteraceae Annual Magnoliopsida v v v
53 Ottochloa nodosa Kunth. Poaceae Annual Liliopsida v
54 Alternanthera pungens Kunth. Amaranthaceae Perennial Magnoliopsida v v
55 Alternanther asessilis Linn. Amaranthaceae Perennial Magnoliopsida v v v v v
56 Centotheca lappacea (Linn.) Desv. Poaceae Perennial Liliopsida v v
57 Chloris barbata Swartz. Poaceae Perennial Liliopsida v
58 Cynodon dactylon (Linn.) Pers. Poaceae Perennial Liliopsida v v v v
59 Dactyloctenium aegyptium (Linn.) Willd. Poaceae Perennial Liliopsida v
60 Digitaria ciliaris (Retz.) Koeler Poaceae Perennial Liliopsida v v
61 Elaphoglossum blumeanum (Fe) J. Sm. Elaphoglossaceae Perennial Polypodiopsid v v
62 Elocharis dulcis (Burm. f.) Trin. ex. Henschel. Cyperaceae Perennial Liliopsida v v v
63 Erigeron sumatrensis Retz. Asteraceae Perennial Magnoliopsida v v
64 Imperata cylindrica (L.) Raeuschel Poaceae Perennial Liliopsida v v v v v
65 Leersia hexandra Swartz Poaceae Perennial Liliopsida v v v v v
66 Vitaceae Vitaceae Perennial Magnoliopsida v v

Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management 932

Plant species from coal mine overburden dumping site in Satui, South Kalimantan, Indonesia

No. Name Family Life span Class Age of overburden (month)

7 10 11 42 59 64
67 Ludwigia hyssopifolia (G. Don) Exell. Onagraceae Perennial Magnoliopsida v v v v
68 Neyraudia reynaudiana (Kunth) Keng ex Hitchc Poaceae Perennial Liliopsida v v v v v
69 Panicum repens Linn. Poaceae Perennial Liliopsida v
70 Paspalum conjugatum Berg. Poaceae Perennial Liliopsida v v v v v v
71 Paspalum dilatatum Poir. Poaceae Perennial Liliopsida v v v v v v
72 Paspalum scrobiculatum Linn. Poaceae Perennial Liliopsida v v v v v v
73 Phyllanthus urinaria Linn. Euphorbiaceae Perennial Magnoliosida v v
74 Rhyncospora corymbosa (Linn.) Britton Cyperaceae Perennial Liliopsida v v v v v v
75 Saccharum spontaneum Linn. Poaceae Perennial Liliopsida v v
76 Sacciolepis indica (Linn.) Chase Poaceae Perennial Liliopsida v v v
77 Sacciolepis strata (Linn.) Nash Poaceae Perennial Liliopsida v
78 Scirpus mucronatus (Linn.) Palla Cyperaceae Perennial Liliopsida v v v
79 Typha angustifolia Linn. Typhaceae Perennial Liliopsida v v v v v v
Liana
80 Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Cucurbitaceae Annual Magnoliosida v
81 Mimosa pudica Linn. Fabaceae Annual Magnoliosida v v v v
82 Araujia hortorum E. Fourn Asclepiadaceae Perennial Magnoliosida v v v
83 Benincasa hispida (Thunb.) Cogn. Cucurbitaceae Perennial Magnoliosida v
84 Centrosema molle Benth. Fabaceae Perennial Magnoliosida v v
85 Centrosema pubescens Benth. Fabaceae Perennial Magnoliosida v v
86 Hodgsonia heteroclita (Roxb.) Hook f. & Thomson Cucurbitaceae Perennial Magnoliosida v
87 Mikania micrantha Kunth. Asteraceae Perennial Magnoliosida v v
88 Passiflora foetida Linn. Passifloraceae Perennial Magnoliosida v v v v v
89 Wedelia trilobata (Linn.) Hitchc. Asteraceae Perennial Magnoliosida v v
Bryophyte
90 Bryophyta Annual v v v v V
Ferns
91 Fern sp.1 Annual v
92 Christella dentata (Forsk.) Browney & Jermy Thelypteridaceae Perennial Filicopsida v
93 Lycopodium cernuum Linn. Lycopsida Annual Lycopodiopsida v
94 Lygodium microphyllum (Cav.) R Br. Lygodiaceae Annual Filicopsida v v
95 Nephrolepis sp. Nephrolepidaceae Annual Filicopsida v
96 Blechnum orientale Linn. Blechnaceae Perennial Pterdidopsida v v
97 Pityrogramma calomelanos (Linn.) Link Polypodiaceae Perennial Pterdidopsida v v v v v

Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management 933

Plant species from coal mine overburden dumping site in Satui, South Kalimantan, Indonesia

No. Name Family Life span Class Age of overburden (month)

7 10 11 42 59 64
98 Pteridium esculentum (G. Forst.) Cockayne Dennstaedtiaceae Perennial Pteridopsida v
99 Pteris vittata Linn. Pteridaceae Perennial Filicopsida v v v v
Shrubs
100 Blumea balsaminifera (Linn.) DC. Asteraceae Perennial Magnoliosida v v v
101 Chromolaena odorata (Linn.) King & Robinson Asteraceae Perennial Magnoliosida v v v v v v
102 Clibadium surinamense Linn. Asteraceae Perennial Magnoliosida v v v v v v
103 Lantana camara Linn. Verbenaceae Perennial Magnoliosida v
104 Leea indica (Burm.f.) Merr. Vitaceae Perennial Magnoliosida v v
105 Melastoma malabathricum Linn. Melastomaceae Perennial Magnoliosida v v v v
106 Piper aduncum Linn. Piperaceae Perennial Magnoliosida v
107 Solanum torvum Swartz. Solanaceae Perennial Magnoliosida v v v v v
108 Trema micrantha (L.) Blume Ulmaceae Perennial Magnoliosida v v v v v v
109 Trema orientalis (L.) Blume Ulmaceae Perennial Magnoliosida v v v v v v
Trees
110 Morinda citrifolia Linn. Rubiaceae Perennial Magnoliosida v
111 Ochroma pyramidale (Cav. Ex Lam.) Urb. Bombacacea Perennial Magnoliosida v
112 Acacia mangium Wild. Fabaceae Perennial Magnoliosida v v v
113 Anthocephalus macrophyllus Havil. Rubiaceae Perennial Magnoliosida v
114 Homalanthus populifolius Graham Euphorbiaceae Perennial Magnoliosida v v v v
115 Macaranga gigantea (Reichb.f.& Zoll.) Mll.Arg. Euphorbiaceae Perennial Magnoliosida v
116 Macaranga tanarius (L.) Muell.Arg. Euphorbiaceae Perennial Magnoliosida v v
117 Mollatus paniculatus (Lam.) Mull.Arg. Euphorbiaceae Perennial Magnoliosida v v
118 Palaquium oblongifolium (Burck) Burck Sapotaceae Perennial Magnoliosida v
119 Tree sp. 1 Perennial Magnoliosida v
120 Tree sp. 2 Perennial Magnoliosida v
121 Tree sp. 3 Perennial Magnoliosida v
122 Tree sp. 4 Perennial Magnoliosida v
123 Psidium guineense Swartz Myrtaceae Perennial Magnoliosida v

Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management 934

Plant species from coal mine overburden dumping site in Satui, South Kalimantan, Indonesia

Particular species of Poaceae, i.e., Paspalum
conjugatum, Paspalum dilatatum, and
Echinochloa colona are mostly present among the
boulders, cobble and gravel. While, Cyperacea
such as Fimbristylis miliaceae, Cyperus
javanicus, Rhyncospora corymbosa, and Scleria
sumatrens is generally found in and around the
bassin that contain refined substrate and moist
condition (Figure 6). It indicates that Cyperaceae
needs better substrate physically (grain size) and
chemically (humidity) than Poaceae. According to
Del Moral and Bliss (1993), undulating area gives
higher soil humidity because of the present of
stagnant water and keep refined particle compare
to the flat area.

Figure 6. Substrate of Cyperaceae (A-C) and Poaceae (D-F)

Figure 7. Seedling of Ochroma pyramidale (top) and Homalanthus populifolius (bottom) at the age of
seven months coal mine OB dump

According to Aththorick (2005), cover vegetation small shrubs. Some of them are annual, binual and
commonly are Poaceae, Cyperaceae, and perennial with life form are clump, solitary, erect,
Asteraceae. They are grass, sedge, herbs, and liana or climbing. Odum (1993) states that early

Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management 935

Plant species from coal mine overburden dumping site in Satui, South Kalimantan, Indonesia
stage development of a community is
characterized by low organic matter while
inorganic nutrients are extrabiotic, biochemical
diversity is low and space heterogeneity is high.
Vegetation that able to utilize that kind of
community structure is species with reproduction
strategy ruderal selection and production is
based on quantity. This vegetation is herbs and
mostly is grass. Some of certain shrubs and trees
have been present at the age of seven months on
coal mine OB dump, shows that substrate has
been available for vascular plants. They are
Chromolaena odorata, Clibadium surinamense,
Melastoma malabathricum, Trema micrantha,
Solanum torvum (shrubs), Ochroma pyramidale
and Homalanthus populifolius (trees) (Figure 7).
This result indicates that revegetation acceleration
can be done on coal mine OB dump by applying
plant species above which have been proven able
to grow on substrate OB condition. However,
species selection is needed to avoid planting of
invasive species such as Acacia mangium and
Centrosema pubenscens.
Conclusions
Although physical, chemical and biological of
coal mine OB substrates do not support the
growth of many plants, but there are particular
species present on OB substrate. Cyperaceae
(such as Fimbristylis miliaceae, Cyperus
compactus, Scleria sumatrensis, Rhyncospora
corymbosa) often found in and around ponds,
while Poaceae (Paspalum conjugatum and
Echinocloa colona) and liana (Passiflora foetida,
Hodgsonia heteroclita and Benincasa hispida) are
generally present among boulders, rubble, gravel
and pebbles. Accelerating succession on coal
mine OB dumps can be implemented by planting
the species above (Table 2), but selection is
needed to avoid invasive species.
Acknowledgements
The Author is greatful to PT. Arutmin Indonesia,
especially Satui Mine Project, South Kalimantan for
supporting financial and all facilities for this study.
Author are also thankful to the anonymous reviewer for
his critical suggestions and comments in improving the
manuscript.
References
Almas, A.R., Bakken, L.R. and Mulder, J. 2004.
Changes in tolerance of soil microbial communities
in Zn and Cd contaminated soils. Soil Biology and
Biochemistry 36: 805813.
Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management
Aththorick, T.A. 2005. Similarities of ground cover
plant communities in several types of plantation
ecosystems in Labuhan Batu. Journal of
Communication Studies 17:42-48
BPK (Badan Pemeriksa Keuangan Republik Indonesia).
2008. Examination results the second half of the
fiscal year (ta) 2007 for the general mining damage
control in 2003-2007 in the Department of Energy
and Mineral Resources and related companies in
South Kalimantan and East Kalimantan, in Jakarta,
Banjarmasin and Samarinda. Main Auditor at State
Finance IV.
Del Moral, R. and Bliss, L.C. 1993. Mechanisms of
primary succession: insights resulting from the
eruption of mount St.Helens. Advances in
Ecological Research 24:1-66
Dobson, A.P., Bradshaw, A.D., Baker, A.J.M. 1997.
Hopes for the future: restoration ecology and
conservation biology. Science 277:515522.
Gautama, R.S. 2007. Speech of Professor of ITB: Mine
drainage management: an important aspect in
environmentally mining.
http://www.itb.ac.id/news/trackback/1486.
Ghose, M.K. 2004. Effect of opencast mining on soil
fertility. Journal of Scientific and Industrial
Research 63 10061009.
Glenn-Lewin, D.C., Peet, R.K. and Veblen, T.T. (eds.)
1992. Plant Succession: Theory and Prediction. ix +
352 pp. Chapman and Hall, New York, NY. ISBN
0-412-26900-7.
Gogoi, J., Pathak, N., Dowarah, J. and Deka Boruah,
H.P. 2007. In Situ Selection of Tree Species in
Environmental Restoration of Open cast Coal mine
Wasteland; Proceedings of Int. Sem. on MPT 2007.
Allied Publisher. p 678681.
Hairiah, K., Widianto, Utami, S,R., Suprayogo, D.,
Sunaryo, S.M., Lusiana, B., Mulia, R., van
Noordwijk, M. and Cadisch, G. 2000. Acidic Soil
Management Biologically: Reflections on
Experience of North Lampung. SMT Grafika Desa
Putera, Jakarta.
Matson, P.A., Parton, W.J., Powere, A.G. and Swift,
M.J. 1997. Agricultural intensification and
ecosystem properties. Science. 277 504509.
Novianti, V. 2013. Process of Primary Succession and
Its Application on Previously Mined Coal Areas.
PhD thesis. Bandung (ID): Institut Teknologi
Bandung.
Odum, E.P. 1993. Basics Ecology.Third edition.
Translated by Tjahjono Samingan. Gajah Mada
University Press. Jogjakarta.
PT. Arutmin Indonesia. 2009. Terms of Reference Draft
for the Environmental Impact Assessment.
Increased Coal Production PKP2BDU318/South
Kalimantan, Satui Mine and DU-308 /South
Kalimantan Mine, Karuh Kintap District of Tanah
Laut subdistrict Satui Tanah Bumbu regency, South
Kalimantan. Banjarmasin.
Setianingprang, P. and Riawan, I. 2008.Role of
Geological Data for Preventing Acid Mine
Drainage on Coal Mine: Case Study at PT.
Indominco Mandiri. Proceeding Seminar of Acid
Mine Drainage and Ex-Mine Land Reclamation in
Indonesia. Bandung.
936
JOURNAL OF DEGRADED AND MINING LANDS MANAGEMENT
ISSN: 2339-076X (p); 2502-2458 (e), Volume 4, Number 4 (July 2017): 937-943
DOI:10.15243/jdmlm.2017.044.937

Research Article

The roles of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in the intensity of the foot

rot disease on pepper plant from the infected soil
Norma Fauziyah1, Bambang Hadisutrisno2*, Suryanti2
1
Phytopathology Study Program, Faculty of Agriculture, Gadjah Mada University
2
Department of Plant Pest and Disease, Faculty of Agriculture, Gadjah Mada University, Bulak Sumur, Yogyakarta,
Indonesia
*corresponding author: bambanghs_ugm@yahoo.com
Received 12 April 2017, Accepted 20 June 2017

Abstract : Pepper (Piper nigrum L.) is an important spice plant of Indonesia. In Bangka Belitung
Province, the main pepper producer, pepper has been the most commonly cultivated commodity.
However, the production has declined from time to time. One of the causes of the decline is Pepper Fot
Rot, caused by Phytophthora capsici. The rapid spread and development of the disease is mainly due to
utilization of diseased plant materials for pepper cuttings and infested or diseased plantation soil. The
materials used in this research included the infected soil taken from the infected pepper plantation at
Bangka Island with disease intensity of pepper foot rot 60%, inoculum of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal fungi
in the zeolite medium, compost, and pepper seedling from Natar variety. This research was done by
planting pepper seedling on infected soil and observing plant height, disease intensity, and infection of
AM fungi on the roots. The results showed that soil from diseased pepper plants harbored high population
of plant pathogens inoculum and caused the death of 9 week-old cuttings and retarded growth of the
survivors. Sterilization of the infected soil with hot water vapor for 3 hours still could not control the
pathogen. Good growth was observed on one node cutting planted in sterile soil amended with arbuscular
mycorrhizal fungi.
Keywords: arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, pepper, pepper foot rot, Phytophthora capsici
To cite this article: Fauziyah, N., Hadisutrisno, B. and Suryanti. 2017. The roles of arbuscular mycorrizal fungi in
the intensity of the foot rot disease on pepper plant from the infected soil. J. Degrade. Min. Land Manage. 4(4): 937-
943, DOI: 10.15243/jdmlm.2017.044.937.

Introduction as well as other predicaments in the field.

Pepper (Piper nigrum) is one of the most
important plantation commodities in Indonesia. In
the Province of Bangka Belitung, it is the choicest
commodity that is being developed nowadays.
The Pepper foot rot disease caused by
Phytophthora capsici is one of the most serious
diseases in Indonesia, and sometimes it causes
serious problems. The intensity of this disease in
Indonesia could reach 63.7% (Bande et al., 2014).
The rapid spread and development of the disease
is mainly due to the utilization of diseased plant
materials for pepper cuttings and infested or
diseased plantation soil. Problems challenging
pepper farmers in Bangka Belitung are a partial
knowledge and limited ability to identify foot rot
Evidence indicated that farmers commonly
prepare cuttings from pepper veins taken from
their own plantation, considering good yield of
the parent plants. Obtaining healthy and
productive cuttings which is then developed in a
controlled Pepper Nursery Farm is a strategic
breakthrough to cope with these two major
diseases (foot root disease and yellow disease)
(Manohara, 2007; Suryanti et al., 2013) and this
research is the initial step of the effort. Bande et
al. (2014) showed that P. capsici, the causal agent
of the pepper foot rot disease, besides being a
soil-borne pathogen, has the potential of being
spread through its propagation materials. Diseased
cuttings as propagation materials are very
dangerous for the survival of pepper plants.

www.jdmlm.ub.ac.id 937
The roles of AM fungi in the intensity of the foot rot disease on pepper plant from the infected soil

Swastiningrum (2015) and Putri et al. (2016)
proved that Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi could
significantly control the disease development,
each of which is for the rust disease on sugarcane
caused by Puccinia kuehnii and leaf spot disease
on clove caused by Colletotrichum
gloeosporioides. The additions of AM Fungi
could improve uptake of phosphorus on maize
which in turn increase plant yield (Mau and
Utami, 2014). This fact needs to be studied for the
foot rot disease on pepper.
Materials and Methods
This research was conducted from April to
November 2016. The preparation of seedlings and
inoculation were done in a screen house in
Condongcatur, Sleman DIY (113 m above from
sea level). Meanwhile, the laboratory research was
conducted at Mycology Laboratory of
Agriculture, Department of Plant Pest and
Disease, Faculty of Agriculture of Gadjah Mada
University, Yogyakarta-Indonesia. The infected
soil was taken from the infected pepper
plantation at Bangka Island in the depth of 15-20
cm with disease intensity of pepper foot rot 60%,
inoculum of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal AM fungi in
the zeolite medium as the collection of Laboratory
of Mycology of Agriculture Faculty of UGM,
compost, and pepper seeds from Natar variety.
The planting of pepper seed was done in the
infected soil in the polybags with a capacity of 2
kg, Soil sterilization and inoculation of AM fungi
was done in accordance with the type of the
treatment. The technique of inoculation was done
by spreading 10 g of biological fertilizer AM
fungi, fungal spores of 19.57 spores in zeolite to
the hole in the polybags containing a mix of
sterile soil and compost, before the pepper seeds
were planted. Sterilization of infected soil was
done using standard sterilization of hot water
vapor for a period of three hours at the
temperature 100oC. Both the planting of pepper
seedlings and inoculation were conducted at
04.00-05.00 pm to accelerate the growth and
infection.

Table 1. Code of treatments for growing media

Code Treatment Description
P0 The pepper seeds without inoculation of AM fungi and fertilizer were planted into the sterile
infected soil.
P1 The pepper seeds inoculated with AM fungi and without any fertilizer were planted into the
sterile infected soil.
P2 The pepper seeds without inoculation of AM fungi and with fertilizer were planted into the
sterile infected soil.
P3 The pepper seeds inoculated with AM fungi and fertilizer were planted into the sterile infected
soil
P4 The pepper seeds without inoculation of AM fungi and fertilizer were planted into the infected
soil.
P5 The pepper seeds inoculated with AM fungi and without any fertilizer, were planted into the
infected soil
P6 The pepper seeds without inoculation of AM)fungi and with fertilizer were planted into the
infected soil
P7 The pepper seeds inoculated with AM fungi and fertilizer were planted into the infected soil.

Parameters of observation fresh green leaves and stalk , 1: The symptom

occurs on the leaves and stalk of 10%, 2: The
The observation included the disease intensity
symptoms on the leaves and stalk are the range of
from first weeks of application until the ninth
10-50%, 3:50-100% leaves are wilting (plant is
weeks and the infection of AM fungi on the roots
dead). The disease intensity was measured using
of pepper, given with a treatment.
the following formula:
Observation on the emergence and growth of
disease
IP
(n x v) x 100%
The observation on the growth of the disease was ZxN
started from the emergence of the symptoms and
it was weekly observed for 7 weeks using the Remarks: IP: Disease Intensity: (%), n: Number
scoring. The scoring system used was based upon of plants for each category of attack, N: Number
Manohara (2007) in which: 0: Plants are healthy of plants observed, v: Score value of attack
(not showing any wilting symptoms) with the

Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management 938

The roles of AM fungi in the intensity of the foot rot disease on pepper plant from the infected soil
category, and Z: Score value of the highest attack
category.
Infection of AM fungi on pepper roots
The observation was conducted by following the
method of Kormanik and McGraw (1982):
Percentage of infected roots = [(Number of
infected roots/Number of observed roots) x 100%]
The sample roots of the pepper plant at the age of
six weeks old were removed and cleaned with the
water. Subsequently, the roots were cut into 2 cm
approximately. The cuts of the roots were soaked
in 10% of KOH in a beaker glass and heated at a
temperature of 80-90oC within 10-115 minutes.
The roots of pepper were then taken and put into a
50-mL beaker glass and rinsed with water 3-4
times until the water of cleaning was no longer
brown. Afterward, they were soaked in 1% of HCl
solution within 5 minutes and colored with 0.05 %
lactophenoltrypan blue. It would be left for 24
Figure 1. The development of disease intensity of pepper foot rot for 9 weeks.
Figure 1 showed that application of AM fungi on
sterile soil (P1) and non-sterile soil (P5) gave a
good effect on the percentage of disease intensity
than other treatments. It also revealed that
application of AM fungi with compost on sterile
soil (P3) and non-sterile soil (P7) had a higher
score of disease intensity but lower than
application on the seedlings without AM fungi on
both the sterile soil (P2) and non-sterile soil (P6).
The results of this study expressed that the effect
of mycorrhizae inhibited the rate of disease
progress compared to others treatments. It
indicated that on sterile soil and amendment of
compost were not able to inhibit the rate of
Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management
hours before conducting an observation using a
binocular microscope to measure the percentage
of the infection of mycorrhizae based upon the
method of Giovanette and Mosse (1980). The
percentage of colonization of the plant roots was
measured using the following formula.
Results and Discussion
In the treatment of the infected soil that has been
sterilied (P0), it was found that the disease
intensity was stable at 40%. The sterilization of
infected soil by means of the standard method (3
hours at 100o C) was not effective. This showed
that time and type of sterelization for the soil used
previously for the program needs to be studied
further as something interesting. The role of AM
fungi in the disease intensity of pepper foot rot
could be seen in the 9th week (Figure 1).
disease infection after 9th observation. Figures 1
and 2 show that the provision of AM fungi in
inhibit the disease intensity of pepper foot rot,
particularly in the treatment of P1 (6.67%) and
P5 (17.78%). Djunaedy (2008) stated that
mycorrhizal fungi could increase the ability in the
nutrient absorption and the nutrient provision for
the plant thus enabling the mycorrhizal fungi to be
used as the biological fertilizer and to increase the
soil fertility. Mycorrhizal fungi can be also used
as one of the soil-borne pathogen controlling
agents. Mycorrhizal fungi are able to make the
plants more resistant to or tolerant of disease due
to the improvement of nutrient on the host plant,
939
The roles of AM fungi in the intensity of the foot rot disease on pepper plant from the infected soil

competition between pathogen and mycorrhizae in
obtaining the photosynthate and infection area,
and the change of anatomy and morphology on
the roots for experiencing the lignification causing
the roots thicker. Mycorrhizae makes the
mechanism of the resistance to the attack of soil-
borne pathogen active due to the increase of
amino acid and phenol compound that is toxic
towards the pathogen (Rozy et al., 2004).
Combination of mycorrhizae and compost did not
show lower score of disease intensity than single
treatment of AM fungi because compost had a
high content of organic materials providing
nutrients for the pathogens. The infected soil from
pepper plant contains the inoculum of
Phytophthora capsici (Figure 3), the causal agent
of foot rot disease.
The disease intensity in this research
developed rapidly because, as stated by Manohara
(2007), the leaves infected by P. capsici would
show the symptom after 24 hours, the diseased
leaves would fall three days after the infection and
it could be dead shortly.

Figure 2. Pepper seed in some treatments. P0, P1, P2, P3, P4, P5, P6 and P7 are as presented in Table 1

Figure 3. Sporangium of Phytophthora capsici; a) Sporangium of Phytophthora capsici from samples of

infected soil, b) Sporangium of Phytophthora capsici from symptomatic roots and leaves after treatment.

The results of contrast analysis inoculation of AM fungi. The disease intensity on

the plants inoculated with AM fungi was lower
The plants inoculated with AM fungi showed a
than the one without the inoculation of AM fungi.
better height compared to the ones without

Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management 940

The roles of AM fungi in the intensity of the foot rot disease on pepper plant from the infected soil

In contrast, on the infection of AM fungi to the
lower roots, its high disease intensity was affected
by the lower infection of AM fungi in the pepper
plants (Table 2). AM fungi are able to enhance the
growth of plants including the plant height,
number of leaves, and the root length on the
plants (Prasasti et al., 2013; Wicaksono et al.,
2014). Application of 20 g mycorrhizae increased
plant height, leaf area, numbers of leaf, index of
chlorophyll, and proline content of tomato plant
(Damaiyanti et al., 2015). The inoculation of AM
fungi on onion plants is able to control the
intensity and the growth rate of soil borne
pathogen and can be used as the trigger of
resistance on the pepper plants to the soil borne
disease (Halim et al., 2016; Sari et al., 2016).

Table 2. The effect of provision of AM Fungi to the infected soil on the plant height, infection of AM
fungi on the plant roots, and disease intensity at 9 weeks after inoculation
Variable Treatment
Without Inoculation of AM Inoculated with AM
Fungi (P0, P2, P4, P6) fungi (P1, P3, P5, P7)
Plant height, cm 4.64b 8.03a
b
Infection of AM Fungi on the roots, 14.93 49.44 a
a
Disease intensity, % 61.67 38.89 b
Remark: the number followed by a different letter shows a significant difference in the orthogonal contrast test

The provision of compost to the infected soil did
not give any effects on the height of pepper plants
as the disease intensity tended to be high; thus, the
growth of the plants was disturbed. The provision
of compost increased the disease intensity on the
pepper plants in the infected soil (Table 3).
However, the provision of compost was not
effective in controlling the pepper foot rot disease
on the infected soil.

Table 3. The effect of the compost provision to the infected soil on the plant height, infection of AM
fungi on the plant roots, and disease intensity at 9 weeks after inoculation
Variable Without inoculation of AM fungi
Without Compost (P0, P4) Compost (P2, P6)
Plant height, cm 5.36b 3.93b
a
Infection of AM Fungi on the roots , % 9.85 20.00b
b
Disease intensity, % 43.33 80.00 a
Remark: the number followed by a different letter shows a significant difference in the orthogonal contrast test

The treatment of AM fungi at the same time as the
compost could not restrain or control the intensity
of the pepper foot rot disease. The percentage of
disease intensity with the treatment of AM fungi
and the compost was higher than the treatment of
AM fungi without the compost Table 4. As
reported by Stone et al. (2001), organic materials
such as compost are inconsistent in controlling the
soil borne pathogen such as Pythium ultimum
dependent upon the quality and quantity of the
compost as the organic materials.

Table 4. The effect of provision of AM fungi and compost to the infected soil on the plant height,
infection of AM fungi on the plant roots, and disease intensity at 9 weeks after inoculation
Variable Inoculated with AM fungi
Without compost (P1, P5) Compost (P3, P7)
Plant height, cm 9.71a 6.35b
a
Infection of AM Fungi on the roots, % 76.67 22.22b
b
Disease Intensity, % 12.22 65.56a
Remark: the number followed by a different letter shows a significant difference in the orthogonal contrast test

Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management 941

The roles of AM fungi in the intensity of the foot rot disease on pepper plant from the infected soil

Table 5 shows that the disease intensity in the
infected soil with the sterilization treatment (P0)
is lower than that of the infected soil without any
sterilization (P4). The soil sterilization could
control the population of pathogen as it can
terminate the pathogen in the infected soil
(Rebecca et al., 2005). However, data presented in
Table 5 show that soil sterilization did not
effective to terminate the pathogen because it was
not able to suppress the overall populations of
pathogens. Longer period of soil sterilization
might be able to effectively suppress the
pathogens. The treatment of sterilization with the
provision of compost to the infected soil cannot
control but increase the population of soil borne
pathogen as seen in Table 6. P. capsici as the
causal agent of pepper foot rot disease can live as
saprophyte in the remains of plant (Manohara,
2007); thus, with the provision of compost, the
pathogen can increase in the infected soil for
obtaining the nutrients from the compost.

Table 5. The effect of sterilization to the infected soil on the plant height, infection of AM fungi on the
plant roots, and disease intensity at 9 weeks after inoculation
Variable Without inoculation of AM fungi
Sterilization (P0) Without Sterilization (P4)
Plant height, cm 5.95a 4.78b
a
Infection of AM Fungi on the roots , % 16.67 3.03b
b
Disease Intensity , % 40.00 46.67a
Remark: the number followed by a different letter shows a significant difference in the orthogonal contrast test

Table 6. The effect of sterilization and the provision of compost to the infected soil on the plant height,
infection of AM fungi on the plant roots, and disease intensity at 9 weeks after inoculation
Variable Without Inoculation of AM fungi
Sterilization + Compost Without Sterilization +
(P2) Compost (P6)
Plant height, cm 3.83b 4.00b
b
Infection of AM Fungi on the roots, % 10.00 30.00a
b
Disease intensity, % 80.00 80.00b
Remark: the number followed by a different letter shows a significant difference in the orthogonal contrast test

The provision of AM fungi to the infected soil
sterilized and infected without sterilization
showed the low level of disease intensity as
shown in Table 7. This was because sterilization
was able to control the soil-borne pathogen and
the roots of the pepper plant were protected by
AM fungi, which can be seen from the data on the
high infection of AM fungi on the roots. There
was no any difference in the result of the research
to the provision of AM fungi, sterilization of
infected soil and the provision of compost with
the provision of AM fungi, infected soil without
sterilization and the provision of compost as
shown in Table 8. The provision of compost has
caused the quite high disease intensity in spirit of
having been inoculated with AM fungi and the
treatment of sterilization

Table 7. The effect of provision of AM fungi and sterilization to the infected soil on the plant height,
infection of AM fungi on the plant roots, and disease intensity at 9 weeks after inoculation
Variable Inoculation of AM fungi
Sterilization (P1) Without Sterilization (P5)
Plant height, cm 9.93b 9.49b
a
Infection of AM Fungi on the roots,% 83.33 70.00b
b
Disease intensity , % 6.67 17.78b
Remark: the number followed by a different letter shows a significant difference in the orthogonal contrast test

Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management 942

The roles of AM fungi in the intensity of the foot rot disease on pepper plant from the infected soil
Table 8.`The effect of the provision of AM fungi, provision of compost and sterilization to the infected
soil on the plant height, infection of AM fungi on the plant roots, and disease intensity at 9
weeks after inoculation.
Variable
Sterilization + Compost
Plant height, cm
Infection of AM Fungi on the roots, %
Disease intensity, %
Remark: the number followed by a different letter shows a significant difference in the orthogonal contrast test
Conclusion
This research concluded that the use of
Arbuscular Mycorrhizal fungi could control the
disease intensity of the pepper foot rot on the
pepper seedlings planted in the infected soil. The
single treatment of mycorrhizae was more
effective in suppressing the rate of disease
progress. Sterilization of the infected soil with hot
water vapor for 3 hours still could not control the
pathogens. There was a negative correlation
between the infection of AM fungi on the roots
and the intensity of the pepper foot rot disease.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to express their grateful thanks
to the Faculty of Agriculture Gadjah Mada University
for the financial support.
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Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management 944

JOURNAL OF DEGRADED AND MINING LANDS MANAGEMENT
ISSN: 2339-076X (p); 2502-2458 (e), Volume 4, Number 4 (July 2017): 945-954
DOI:10.15243/jdmlm.2017.044.945

Research Article

Effect of mulching and amelioration on growth and yield of groundnut

on saline soil
Abdullah Taufiq*, Andy Wijanarko, Afandi Kristiono
Indonesian Legumes and Tuber Crops Research Institute, Jl. Raya Kendalpayak KM 8, Kotak Pos 66 Malang 65101
Indonesia
*
corresponding author: taufiq.malang@gmail.com, ndy_wijanarko@yahoo.com
Received 27 April 2017, Accepted 19 June 2017

Abstract: Agricultural lands affected by salt facing complex problems associated with soil salinity and
the toxicity effects of Na cation. Soil amelioration and mulching is an alternative to alleviate negative
effect of salinity. Objective of research was to identify effective ameliorant, and effect of mulching in
improving growth and yield of groundnut on saline soil. The research had been conducted on saline soil
(soil EC 12 dS/m) in Lamongan during dry season of 2016, using Hypoma 2 cultivar. Treatments that
consisted of two factors were arranged in a split plot design with three replicates. The main plot was
mulching (without mulching and mulching with 3.5 t/ha of rice straw), and the sub plot was soil
ameliorations (control, 120 kg/ha K2O, 750 kg/ha S, 5 t/ha gypsum, 5 t/ha manure, and 1.5 t/ha of gypsum
+ 5 t/ha manure). Results showed that mulching, and amelioration with 120 kg/ha K2O, 750 kg/ha S, 5
t/ha gypsum decreased soil EC, but could not improve groundnut growth and could not retard chlorophyll
degradation because the soil was EC still high (12.5 dS/m). The higher yield (1.49 t/ha dry pods) can be
obtained by amelioration with 750 kg sulphur/ha combined with mulching.
Keywords: amelioration, groundnut, mulching, salinity
To cite this article: Taufiq, A., Wijanarko, A. and Kristiono, A.2017. Effect of mulching and amelioration on
growth and yied of groundnut on saline soil. J. Degrade. Min. Land Manage. 4(4): 945-954, DOI:
10.15243/jdmlm.2017.044.945.

Introduction varied among genotypes (Singh et al. 2007; Singh

Salt affected of agricultural land in coastal area
tend to increase due to sea water intrution
(Marwanto et al., 2009; Erfandi and Rachman,
2011), intensive use of irrigation from deep well
(Wanget al., 2008; Putra and Indradewa, 2011),
and natural dissaster like tsunami (Rachman et al.,
2008; Royet al. 2014). Increasing soil salinity
raising complexes problem, including high Na
concentration (Tester and Davenport, 2003) and
Cl (Papadakis et al., 2007) in the soil, that is
difficult to overcome. Salinity affects plant
growth in all growing stage (Nawaz et al., 2010),
reduces water absorption by crop (Kronzucker et
al., 2006; Salwa et al., 2010), reduces nutrient
uptake (Salwa et al., 2010; Jouyban, 2012), and
chlorophyll content (Xing et al., 2013; Nokandeh
et al., 2015). Salinity tolerance of groundnut
et al. 2008). Taufiq et al. (2015) found that pod
yield of 10 cultivars decreased by 30-53% at
salinity of 1.60-1.84 dS/m and by 59-93% at
salinity of 2.95-4.44 dS/m compared to the
control.At low salinity level, planting tolerant
cultivar is more efficient than amelioration.
However, amelioration is needed if the salinity
above the level that can be tolerated by crop.
Leaching is the most effective method to reduce
soil salinity, but it need much fresh water and
time consuming. An alternative way is alleviating
negative effect of Na. Soil EC can be reduced and
negative effect of Na can be alleviated by
application of K (Kabir et al., 2004; Kopittke,
2012), Ca (Dabuxilatu and Ikeda, 2005), and
elemental S (Nazar et al., 2011). Application of
compost (Radwan and Awad, 2002), gypsum

www.jdmlm.ub.ac.id 945
Effect of mulching and amelioration on growth and yield of groundnut on saline soil

(Niazi et al., 2007; da Silveira et al., 2008; groundnut seed of Hypoma-2 cultivar treated with
Joachim and Verplancke, 2010), combination of insecticide of active ingredient the ametoxam. The
manure with gypsum (Smith et al., 2009; Chaum seeds were planted in the plot of 4 m x 3 mwith
et al,. 2011; Kahlon et al., 2012; Murtaza et al., plant spacing of 40 cm x 15 cm, 1-2 seeds/hole.
2013) are effective in decreasing soil EC and Irrigation from adjacent well with water-EC of
improving plant growth. Application of P and K 3.88 dS/m applied just after planting. The rain
fertilizer, manure, ash, and dolomiteincreased often fall at the site from 15 days after planting
yield of rice and palawija crops on saline soil (DAP) up to hasvest, and so that no more
(Sembiring et al., 2008; Iskandar and Chairunas, irrigation added.Weeding conducted twice, at 15
2008). Mulching effective in alleviating salinity DAP using propaquizofap herbicide, and manual
effect (Dong, 2012). Mulching reduced salt weeding at 45 DAP together with ridging. Basal
accumulation under high saline irrigation (Zang et fertilization at rates of 36 kg P2O5/ha and 30 kg
al. 2008), and decreased soil salinity (Abou-Baker K2O/ha broadcasted just after planting, while 33.7
et al. 2011). Alharbi (2015) showed that mulching kg N/ha applied at 15 DAP. Pest was controlled
decreased soil salinity of surface layers compared regularly using fipronil, deltametrin,
to the unmulched layer. Objective of the research chlorantraniliprol, and pyridaben insecticide
was to identify the effective ameliorant and effect accordingly.
of mulching in improving growth and yield of
groundnut on saline soil. Table 1. Soil properties in the top 0-20 cm at
experimental site.
Materials and Methods Parameters Method Value
pH-H2O 1:5 7.8
The research was conducted at Lohgung Village, EC (dS/m) Field 12.10
Berondong Sub District, LamonganDistrict measurement1)
(6o5359.89801 S; 112o1115.31277 E; 26 m C-organic (%) Walky-Black 1.02
above see level) from May to August 2016.The Exch-K NH4OAc pH 7 1.00
experimental site is about 1.5 km from the coast, (cmol+/kg)2)
and the soil at the trial site developed from lime Exch-Na NH4OAc pH 7 2.51
stone. Soil salinity as indicated by soil EC is high, (cmol+/kg)
soil pH is midly alkaline. Cation saturation at Exch-Ca NH4OAc pH 7 23.7
exchange site dominated by Ca (56.5%) and Mg (cmol+/kg)
(35.1%), while K and Na only 2.4% and 6.0%, Exch- NH4OAc pH 7 14.7
consecutively (Table 1). Based on soil EC (>4 Mg(cmol+/kg)
dS/m), pH (<8,5), and exchangeable sodium CEC(cmol+/kg) Cation summation 41.91
percentage (<15%) indicate that the soil at Na saturation (%) (Exch- 5.99
experimental site is classified as saline soil. Soil at Na/CEC)*100
the site is highly saline because the EC in the 1)
range of 8.8-16.0 dS/m according to Jones (2002). using Hanna portable EC meter type HI993310;
2)
exch=exchangeable
According to Hazelton and Murphy (2007), the
soil contain high K, very high Ca, Mg, and Na.
Observation consisted of soil analysis at harvest
Treatments that consisted of two factors were
(pH, C-organic, exchangeable Na, Ca, Mg, and
arranged in a split-plot design with three
K). Electrolic conductivity (EC, using Hanna
replicates. The main plot was two levels of
portable EC meter type HI993310) and soil water
mulching, consisted ofwithout mulch (M0) and
content at 0-20 cm of soil depth (gravimetric
mulching with 3.5 t/ha of rice straw(M1). The sub
method) were measured every 15 days from
plot was six soil ameliorations consisted of
planting up to 75 DAP. Tissue analysis of shoot
control (A0), 120 kg/ha K2O (A1), 750 kg/ha
(Na, Ca, Mg, and K) was measured at pegging
Sulphur (A2), 5 t/ha gypsum (A3), 5 t/ha cow
stage. Four samples collected from each plot were
manure (A4), and 1.5 t/ha gypsum+5 t/ha cow
oven dried at 75oC up to constant weight and then
manure (A5).
ground and composited according to the
Ameliorant treatment applied just before
treatments during grinding. Soil and plant
planting, while mulching treatment applied just
analyses were conducted at Iletris Laboratory
after planting. Rice straw of the previous crop
according to Eviati and Sulaeman (2009).
cleared from the land. Paraquate
Agronomic parameters consisted of number of
dichloride herbicide sprayed before planting to
seedling at 15 DAP, shoot dry weight at pegging
control weeds, and the land cultivated using rotary
stage, plant height and chlorophyl content index at
at one week after weed control. Before planting,
15, 30, 45, 60 and 75 DAP. Chlorophyl content

Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management 946

Effect of mulching and amelioration on growth and yield of groundnut on saline soil
index was measured using Chlorophyl meter
SPAD-500. Observasion at harvest consisted of
number of harvested plant, number of filled pods,
pod and kernel weight. Variance analysis used to
detect effect of treatments, and mean comparation
using Least Significant Different (LSD) at 5%
level of significancy.
Results and Discussion
Soil properties and nutrient uptake
Mulching treatment tended to reduce soil EC at all
observation dates with reduction varied from 0.22
to 1.34 dS/m (Figure 1). The differences of EC
between mulching and unmulching treatment was
15,5
15,0
14,5
14,0
EC (dS/m)
13,5
13,0
12,5
12,0
11,5
11,0
15 30 45
Plant age (DAP)
Figure1. Effect of mulching on soil EC and soil moisture content at 15 DAP up to 75 DAP on saline soil.
Lamongan, dry season 2016. (M0=without mulch, M1=with mulch, EC=electrolic conductivity,
MC=moisture content)
Soil amelioration with 120 kg/ha K2O, 750 kg/ha
S, 5 t/ha gypsum, 5 t/ha manure, and1.5 t/ha
gypsum+5 t/ha manure affected soil EC, but the
diffrences was statistically not significant (Figure
2A). The dynamic of soil EC due to amelioration
seemed more related to the dynamic of soil
moisture content (Figure 2B). Soil EC during the
trial was >11 dS/m, and it was above the critical
level of 3.2 dS/m (Yadav et al., 2011). In pot
experiment, groundnut could not perform pod on
soil EC 6.5 dS/m (Mungala et al., 2008), on soil
EC >1.84 dS/m (Taufiq et al., 2015). On field
experiment with soil EC 15.33 dS/m, groundnut
of Domba and Hypoma-1 cultivar produced 0.5-
0.7 t/ha dry pod (Taufiq et al., 2016). Mulching
and amelioration treatments and their interaction
had no significant affect on soil pH, C-organic
content, exchangeable K (exch-K), Ca, Mg, and
Na (Figures 3 and 4). Exch-Na in all treatments
was less than 0.3 cmol/kg, and was classified as
Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management
not significantly difference, except at 60 DAP and
75 DAP. Mulching treatment did not significantly
affect soil moisture content, even the soil moisture
tend to be higher than without mulching (Figure
1). The soil EC fluctuated between observation,
and it tended to increase as soil moisture
decreased. Mulching reduce evapotranspiration
and salt accumulation (Zhang et al., 2008),
maintain moisture content in the root zone, and
also reduce soil temperature, evaporation and salt
accumulation (Abou-Baker et al., 2011; Swarup,
2013; Alharbi, 2015). Reduction of soil EC in this
experiment migh be due to reduction of salt
accumulation in the top soil layer.
42,5
40,0
Soil moisture content (%)
37,5
35,0
32,5 EC-M0
30,0
EC-M1
27,5
MC-M0
25,0
22,5 MC-M1
20,0
60 75
low according to Hazelton and Murphy (2007).
Soil pH at harvest was 0.7 units higher than at
planting (increased from 7.8 to 8.5), that might be
due to salt accumulation on top soil layer as
indicated by increasing soil EC. Soil EC was
significantly affected (p=0.05) by intercation
between mulching and amelioration treatments.
All amelioration treatments, except manure,
combined with mulching resulted lower EC than
without mulching (Figure 4C). Mulching had
positive effect on the EC reduction. Without
mulching, soil EC increased linearly) as soil depth
decreased from 12 cm to 9 cm, 6 cm and 3 cm
(Y=16,985-0,6589X, R =0,99. With mulching,
soil EC at 3 cm and 6 cm was relatively similar,
and then it decreased up to 12 cm of soil depth
(Figure 4D). This data indicated that mulching
retarded salt accumulation and increasing of EC in
the top soil layer. As reported by Abou-Baker et
al. (2011) and Swarup (2013) that mulching
947
Effect of mulching and amelioration on growth and yield of groundnut on saline soil

reduce soil temperature and evaporation.
Decreasing of soil temperature and evaporation
will reduce the flow rate of disolve salt in the soil
from the deeper layer to the top layer, and hence
retard salt accumulation in the top layer. Uptake
of K, Na, Ca, and Mg due to amelioration
treatments were lower than control (Figure 5).
Among the ameliorants, application of 750 kg
S/ha or 5 t/ha manure increased uptake of K, Na,
Ca and Mg, but application of 120 kg K2O/ha or
with 5 t/ha gypsum decreased K, Na, Ca, and Mg.
Uptake of Na was higher if amelioration with
K2O or gypsum was combined with mulching
(Figure 4). This means, that amelioration of saline
soil with K2O or gypsum is better than with
sulphur (S) or manure or combination of manure
and gypsum, and the effect is better if combined
with mulching.

15,0 50,0
14,5

Soil moisture content (%)

A0 45,0 A0
14,0
13,5 A1 40,0 A1
EC (dS/m)

13,0 A2 35,0 A2
12,5
12,0 A3 30,0 A3
11,5 A4 25,0 A4
11,0 A5 20,0 A5
10,5
10,0 15,0
15 30 45 60 75 10,0

Plant age (DAP) 15 30 45 60 75

Plant age (DAP)
A B
Figure 2. Effect of ameliorant on soil EC (A) and soil moisture content (B) at 15 DAP up to 75 DAP on
saline soil in Lamongan during dry season 2016. (A0=control, A1=120 kg/ha K2O, A2=750 kg/ha S,
A3=5 t/ha gypsum, A4=5 t/ha manure, A5=1.5 t/ha gypsum+5 t/ha manure)

9,0 1,8
8,8
A B
1,5
8,5
C-org (%)

1,3
pH-H2O

8,3
8,0 1,0
7,8 0,8
M0 M0
7,5 0,5
7,3 M1 0,3 M1
7,0 0,0
A0 A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 A0 A1 A2 A3 A4 A5

Ameliorant Ameliorant

0,16 0,27 D
exch-Na (cmol+/kg)
exch-K (cmol+/kg)

0,14 C 0,24
0,12 0,21
0,10 0,18
0,08 0,15
0,12
0,06 M0 0,09 M0
0,04 0,06
0,02 M1 0,03 M1
0,00 0,00
A0 A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 A0 A1 A2 A3 A4 A5

Ameliorant Ameliorant

Figure 3. Effect of ameliorant and mulching on soil pH, C-organic, exch-K, and exch-Na on saline soil in
Lamongan during dry season 2016. (M0=without mulch, M1=with mulch, A0=control, A1=120 kg/ha
K2O, A2=750 kg/ha S, A3=5 t/ha gypsum, A4=5 t/ha manure, A5=1.5 t/ha gypsum+5 t/ha manure)

Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management 948

Effect of mulching and amelioration on growth and yield of groundnut on saline soil

30,0 20,0
27,5

exch-Ca (cmol+/kg)

exch-Mg (cmol+/kg)
25,0 A 17,5
22,5 15,0 B
20,0 12,5
17,5
15,0 10,0
12,5 7,5
10,0 M0 M0
7,5 5,0
5,0 2,5
2,5 M1 M1
0,0 0,0
A0 A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 A0 A1 A2 A3 A4 A5
Ameliorant Ameliorant

17,0 C 17,0 D
16,5
16,0 16,0

EC (dS/m)
EC (dS/m)

15,5
15,0 15,0
14,5
14,0 14,0
13,5 M0
13,0 13,0
12,5 M1
12,0 12,0
A0 A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 3 cm 6 cm 9 cm 12 cm

Ameliorant Soil depth

- mulching + mulching

Figure 3. Effect of ameliorant and mulching on exch-Ca, exch-Mg, and EC on saline soil in Lamongan
during dry season 2016. (M0=without mulch, M1=with mulch, A0=control, A1=120 kg/ha K2O, A2=750
kg/ha S, A3=5 t/ha gypsum, A4=5 t/ha manure, A5=1.5 t/ha gypsum+5 t/ha manure)

80,0 50,0
Ca (mg/plant)

Mg (mg/plant)

60,0 40,0
30,0
40,0
20,0
20,0 M0 M0
10,0
0,0 M1 0,0 M1
A0 A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 A0 A1 A2 A3 A4 A5
Ameliorant Ameliorant

80,0 80,0
Na (mg/plant)
K (mg/plant

60,0 60,0
40,0 40,0
20,0 M0 20,0 M0
0,0 M1 0,0 M1
A0 A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 A0 A1 A2 A3 A4 A5
Ameliorant Ameliorant

Figure 5. Effect of mulching and ameliorant on K, Ca, Na, and Mg uptake of groundnut of Hypoma 2
cultivar at pagging stage on saline soil in Lamongan, during dry season year 2016. (M0=without mulch,
M1=with mulch 3.5 t/ha; A0=control, A1=120 kg/ha K2O, A2=750 kg/ha S, A3=5 t/ha gypsum, A4=5
t/ha manure, A5=1.5 t/ha gypsum+5 t/ha manure)

The results indicated that mulching effectively with K2O, sulphur and gypsum combined with
reduce soil EC in the top soil layer, but could not mulching effectively reduced EC, but had no
reduce Na uptake by groundnut. Amelioration effect on exch-Na.

Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management 949

Effect of mulching and amelioration on growth and yield of groundnut on saline soil

Plant growth height at 30DAP up to 75 DAP, but not

significantly affected shoot biomass at 55 DAP
The seed of Hypoma-2 cultivar started to
(maximum vegetative stage) and at harvest.
germinate at 5 DAP.Plant vigor at germination
Amelioration treatments did not improve plant
stage was good eventhough the soil EC 12.10
growth as indicated by plant height and shoot
dS/m. Germination percentage at 10 DAP was 95-
biomass at all observation date, except shoot
98%, and plant population at harvest was 87.6%.
biomass at 55 DAP where amelioration reduced
Mulching treatment significantly improved plant
the biomass compared to control (Table 2).

Table 2. Effect of mulching and amelioration on plant height and shoot biomass of groundnut on saline
soil in Lamongan on dry season 2016.
Treatment Plant height (cm) Shoot biomas
15 30 45 60 75 At 55 DAP At
DAP DAP DAP DAP DAP harvest (g/5 harvest
plants) (t/ha)
Mulching
Without mulch 4.1 a 6.5b 11.6 b 19.5b 21.5 b 25.6 15.68 2.06
With mulch 3.4 b 8.0a 12.8 a 21.5a 23.0 a 25.9 15.31 2.18
Amelioration
Control 3.8 7.2 12.1a 19.9 21.8 25.1 19.88a 2.04
120 kg/ha K2O 3.7 6.7 12.2a 21.0 22.0 25.5 13.56b 2.15
750 kg/ha S 3.8 7.6 12.3a 21.3 22.7 26.0 15.22b 2.29
5 t/ha gypsum (G) 3.8 7.3 10.9b 19.0 20.9 25.3 12.67b 2.23
5 t/ha manure(M) 3.7 7.4 13.0a 21.0 22.7 25.4 16.47ab 2.03
1.5 t/ha G+5 t/ha M 3.9 7.2 12.7a 20.9 23.5 27.0 15.17b 1.97
CV (%) 6.63 7.52 7.62 7.86 8.84 5.16 23.02 17.04
Numbers in the same coloum in each main factor with the same letter or without letter means not significantly
different with LSD 5%. DAP = days after planting.

Mulching and amelioration treatments and their
interaction had no significant effect on
chlorophyll content index (CCI). CCI value
continously reduced with plant age increased
(Figure 6). It means that chlorophyll content
reduced and leaves become more yelowish. Figure
7 ilustrates the relationship between CCI value
and leaf colour. Mulching and amelioration
treatments could not retard chlorophyll
degradation. Eventhought mulching and
amelioration treatments significantly decreased
soil EC, they but had no positive effect on CCI
because the soil EC was still high (ranged from 11
dS/m to 15 dS/m). Reduction of chlorophyll
content due to salinity stress also reported by
Hossain et al. (2011), Xing et al. (2013) and
Nokandeh et al. (2015).
Yield and yield components
Rice straw mulching increased number of
branches and number of filled pods, but no
significant effect on weight of fresh and dry pod,
weight of dry kernel, weight of 100 kernels,
harvest index and kernel to pod weight ratio.
Amelioration and its interaction with mulching
had no significant effect on these variables, except
on weight of dry pod and dry kernel (Table 3).
Soil EC at trial site was very high, and groundnut
only performed 6-7 pods/plant. Mensah et al.
(2006) found that number of filled pod decreased
with increasing soil EC, from 11-17 pods/plant at
EC 4.68 dS/m to 7 and 6 pods/plant
consequtively at EC 8.9 dS/m and 17 dS/m. Seed
size of Hypoma-2 cultivar on saline soil was
bigger than on non saline soil, as indicated by
weight of 100 kernels of 34.2-36.2 g on saline soil
(Table 3), and about 31.2 gon non saline soil
(based on the cultivar description). Ratio of kernel
to pod on saline soil was lower (0.35-0.40) than
on non saline soil (0.60-0.70). Mulching and
amelioration treatments did not increase pod and
kernel weight. Hypoma-2 cultivar yielded 3 t/ha
of fresh pod (1.3 t/ha dry pod), 0.49 t/ha dry
kernel (Table 3). Potential yield of Hypoma-2
cultivar on non saline soil is 3.2 t/ha dry pod. It
means that the yield of 1.3 t/ha dry pod on saline
soil with EC 11-15 dS/m is about 41% of yield on
non saline soil. Harvest index (HI) value in this
experiment was 0.38, in the range of common HI
of groundnut (0.3-0.5).

Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management 950

Effect of mulching and amelioration on growth and yield of groundnut on saline soil

45 45
40 40
35 35
30 30 A0
25 25

CCI
A1
CCI

20 20
A2
15 M0 15
10 10 A3
M1
5 5 A4
0 0
A5
15 30 45 60 75 15 30 45 60 75

Plant age (DAP) Plant age (DAP)

A B
Figure 6. Effect of mulching (A) and ameliorant (B) on chlorophyll content index (CCI) of groundnut leaf
from 15 DAP up to 75 DAP on saline soil in Lamongan during dry season 2016. (M0=without mulch,
M1=with mulch 3.5 t/ha; A0=control, A1=120 kg/ha K2O, A2=750 kg/ha S, A3=5 t/ha gypsum, A4=5
t/ha manure, A5=1.5 t/ha gypsum+5 t/ha manure)

CCI=21.1 CCI= 28.1 CCI= 30.2

CCI= 37.6 CCI= 40.1 CCI= 41.4

Figure 7. Ilustration of relationship between chlorophyll content index (CCI) and leaf colour.

Pod and kernel weight were significantly affected
by interaction between mulching and amelioration
treatment. The highest pod yield (1.49 t/ha) was
obtained by amelioration with 750 kg S/ha
combined with mulch (Table 4). Amelioration
with gypsum or gypsum+manure decreased pod
yield if combined with mulch treatment. It means
that pod yield of groundnut on saline soil can be
increased by amelioration with 750 kg S/ha
combined with mulching. The highest kernel
weight (0.61 t/ha) was obtained by amelioration
with 5 t/ha manure without mulch, or by
amelioration with 120 kg K2O/ha combined with
mulch (Table 4). This indicates that the kernel
yield of groundnut on saline soil can be increased
by amelioration with 5 t/ha manure, or by
amelioration with 120 kg K2O/ha combined with
mulch.

Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management 951

Effect of mulching and amelioration on growth and yield of groundnut on saline soil

Table 3. Effect of mulching and amelioration to the yield and yield components of Hypoma-2 cultivar on
saline soil in Lamongan indry season 2016.
Treatment No. of No. Fresh Dry Dry Harvest Weight Kernel
Branches of pod pod kernel index of 100 to pod
Filled weight weight weight kernels ratio
pods (t/ha) (t/ha) (t/ha) (g)
Mulching
Without mulch 4b 6b 2.97 1.31 0.49 0.38 35.57 0.38
With mulch 5a 7a 3.12 1.28 0.49 0.37 34.40 0.37
Amelioration
Control 4 6 3.05 1.44 0.54 0.40 34.92 0.37
120 kg/ha K2O 5 7 3.12 1.36 0.53 0.37 34.37 0.39
750 kg/ha S 5 7 3.23 1.33 0.48 0.37 36.25 0.35
5 t/ha gypsum (G) 4 7 2.88 1.21 0.45 0.35 34.22 0.37
5 t/ha manure (M) 5 7 2.99 1.28 0.51 0.38 34.55 0.38
1.5 t/ha G+5 t/ha M 4 7 3.99 1.16 0.45 0.39 35.62 0.40
CV (%) 7.94 12.50 18.42 14.10 17.99 9.78 11.69 7.94
Numbers in the same coloum in each main factor with the same letters or without letters mean not significantly
different with LSD 5%.

Table 4. Effect of mulching and amelioration on yield of groundnut of Hypoma 2 cultivar on saline soil
in Lamongan, dry season year 2016.
Amelioration Pod weight (t/ha) Kernel weight (t/ha)
Without With Without With
mulch mulch mulch mulch
Control 1.43 ab 1.44 ab 0.50 abcde 0.57 ab
120 kg/ha K2O 1.34 ab 1.39 ab 0.46 abcde 0.60 a
750 kg/ha S 1.16 bc 1.49 a 0.40 bc 0.56 abc
5 t/ha gypsum (G) 1.27 abc 1.16 bc 0.47 abc 0.43 bc
5 t/ha manure (M) 1.36 ab 1.21 abc 0.61 a 0.41cde
1.5 t/ha G+5 t/ha M 1.34 ab 0.99 c 0.54 abcd 0.37 e
Numbers in the same variable with the same letters meannot significantly different with LSD 5%.

Conclusion
Mulching using 3.5 t/ha rice straw and
amelioration with 120 kg/ha K2O, 750 kg/ha S, 5
t/ha gypsum decreased soil EC. However,
mulching was more effective in reducing soil EC
than amelioration with K2O, S, and gypsum. Even
though mulching decreased soil EC by 0.22-1.34
dS/m, but it could not improve groundnut growth
and could not retard chlorophyll degradation
because the soil EC still high (12.5 dS/m). The
higher yield (1.49 t/ha dry pods) could be
obtained by amelioration using 750 kg sulphur/ha
combined with mulching.
Acknowledgements
The research was founded by Indonesian Government
through Indonesian Agency of Agriculture Research
and Development (IAARD) budget year 2016. The
authors wishes to thank to Mr. Wido Sendiko for good
field assistance, and Mayar, Angesti and Ekmi for good
work in preparing and analysing soil and plant samples.
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