Application of Dolomite as Soil Conditioner to pH and Exchangeable Al in Inceptisol

Abstract

Soil fertility is the state of the soil where water, water and nutrients are in a state that is quite balanced and can be obtained according to the needs of plants, including the physical, chemical and biological needs of the soil. Lack of soil fertility will affect plant growth and productivity so that it is less than optimal. Therefore, it is very necessary to increase soil fertility through soil improvement, one of which is dolomite. Inceptisols are soil orders that have not developed further with the characteristics of a thick solum between 1.5-10 meters above the parent material, reacts acidly with a pH of 4.5-6.5, if it undergoes further development the pH increases to less than 5.0, and base saturation is from low to low. currently. The texture of this whole solum is generally clayey, while the structure is crumbly and the consistency is loose. In general, the fertility and chemical properties of Inceptisols are relatively low, but efforts can still be made to improve with appropriate handling and technology, pH in Inceptisol soils is one of the obstacles in efforts to increase soil productivity. The application of dolomite on acidic agricultural soils is to reduce or eliminate the adverse effects of acid soils, which generally contain high enough quantities of exchangeable aluminum ions so that they can poison plants. This test was carried out at the Experimental Field of the Chemical Laboratory of Soil Fertility and Plant Nutrition, Department of Soil Science and Land Resources, Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Padjadjaran, Jatinangor, Sumedang Regency, West Java, which is located at an altitude of 794 m above sea level. The experiment used a randomized block design (RAK). In accordance with the objectives of the experiment, five dolomite test treatments were set with five replications. Dolomite affects the process of increasing pH and decreasing exchangeable Al. Giving the test dose of dolomite equivalent to 1.5 doses of dolomite was able to increase pH and decrease Al-exchable.