Campuran Gambut Sabut Kelapa (Cocopeat) dan Tanah Sebagai Media Tumbuh Yang Berdaya Tampung Air Tinggi Bagi Tanaman Tomat

Abstract

A Mixture of Coconut Coir Peat (Cocopeat) and Soil As A Growing Media With High Water Capacity For Tomato Plants. Cocopeat is a material from the inside of coconut coir that can absorb and store water very high due to its very porous structure but is not rich in nutrients for plants. Tests of the maximum water absorption capacity of cocopeat and the kinetics of evaporation of water by sunlight, as well as the maximum water absorption resistance of a mixture of cocopeat and black soil in supporting the growth activity of tomato plants compared to black soil as a control medium have been carried out in this study. The results showed that cocopeat and black soil had a maximum water absorption of 17,7 g water/g cocopeat and 1,74 g water/g black soil respectively. The evaporation rate of maximum water absorption from cocopeat by sunlight follows the first-order kinetic model which explains that the bond between water and the cocopeat surface is a physical interaction involving weak dipole-dipole interactions and Van der Wall forces. The results also showed that the maximum water absorption capacity in the mixture (cocopeat: black soil = 1: 5) was able to support growth activity for more than 8 days, while the maximum water absorption capacity in the soil alone was only able to support tomato growth activity for 3.5 days. Until the study time of 8 days, the addition of new leaves of tomato plants in this mixed planting medium and black soil alone was 11 strands and 6 strands, respectively. Because the two growing media have relatively the same degree of acidity, namely pH 6, the higher number of new leaves produced by tomato plants in the mixed cocopeat growing media may be due to differences in the number of water-soluble nutrients. Because the water content in the mixed media is 10 times more than in the black soil media alone, the nutrient content in the form of a solution in the mixed media is also 10 times more, so that tomato plants absorb these nutrients more easily for a longer time. So a mixture (cocopeat: black soil = 1: 5) is a better choice than black soil alone as a growing medium for tomato plants.