Organic Fertilizer from Starfruit Waste Sustainable Agriculture Solution

Waste from starfruit cultivation could attract flies around the plantation which can reduce the quality of starfruit plants and also reduce the aesthetic value. To resolve these problems, waste from starfruit cultivation could be utilized as organic fertilizer. The utilization of starfruit waste into organic fertilizer can increase added value as a source of organic material for vegetable crops grown in starfruit plantations in a sustainable agriculture system. Organic fertilizer from starfruit waste was expected to replace inorganic fertilizer in pakcoy vegetable crops on verticulture system. The objectives of this study were: (1) to determine the nutrient content of organic fertilizer made from starfruit leaves and fruits waste; (2) to determine the effect of starfruit organic fertilizer on pakcoy growth as substitution of inorganic fertilizer. This study was conducted in October 2018 - February 2019. The location for this tudy was at Attaqie Agroeduwisata Farm, Tuban Regency, East Java. Soil and fertilizer analysis were carried out at the Soil Research Institute, Bogor. The study used Randomized Block Design (RBD) with three replications. The first factor was the dose of inorganic fertilizer with 3 levels namely 0%, 50%, and 100% of the standard dose and the second factor was starfruit leaf compost dose with 4 levels namely 0 ton/ha, 10 tons/ha, 20 tons/ ha, and 30 ton/ha. The treatment of compost 20 ton/ha + 50% inorganic fertilizer showed no significant difference with the use of 100% inorganic fertilizer, which was the best treatment with optimal results on plant height, leaf width and fresh weight of pakcoy. Thus, that the use of 20 tons/ha + 50% inorganic fertilizer can save 50% use of inorganic fertilizer on verticulture system.