PENGOLAHAN BAHAN ORGANIK ECENG GONDOK (Eichhornia crassipes) DENGAN MENGGUNAKAN BERBAGAI MIKROORGANISME MENDUKUNG PERTANIAN ORGANIK

Abstract

Processing of Organic Water Hyacinth (Eichhornia crasipes) Using Various Microorganisms Supports Organic Agriculture. This research was conducted to determine the nutrient content in water hyacinth (Eichornia crassipes) compost by using earthworms and various microorganisms. The design used in this study were: Factorial Randomized Block Design (RAK) with 2 treatments and 3 replications. Parameters observed were: Composting time (days), pH, temperature (0C), Nutrient content of N, P, and K (%), Heavy metal content of Pb and Cd (%). The list of variances can be seen that the composting time is very real for various parameters of microorganisms. However, the compost produced will be better if it is given longer time for earthworms to decompose heavy metals. The study was carried out for 1 month, which is less time for earthworms to decompose heavy metals contained in water hyacinth. At the end of the study, the earthworm population was reduced from the initial population of the study. This is presumably because the application of earthworms was directly applied to water hyacinth. Water hyacinth treatment should be gradual, so that earthworms are able to break down all organic matter and are expected to affect heavy metal levels in water hyacinth compost. The interaction of the treatment of microorganisms and earthworms showed no significant effect on all observation parameters. This is because there is no ongoing relationship between microorganisms and earthworms on water hyacinth composting. The number of earthworms that are still lacking makes the composting process less than perfect.