Application of Various Concentrations of Moringa Leaf Liquid Fertilizer (Moringa oleifera L.) to Stimulate Growth and Yield of Upland Rice Under Various Drought Stresses

Abstract

Upland rice is susceptible to drought stress in crops, especially on marginal lands. The use of moringa leaf liquid fertilizer as a biostimulant that is very rich in important compounds is expected to increase growth andproduction as well as plant tolerance to drought stress. This study aims to determine the appropriate concentrationof moringa leaf extract liquid fertilizer to inhibit the growth and yield of upland rice plants grown under variouslevels of drought stress. This study was arranged in the form of a 2-factor factorial experiment with randomizedcomplate block design Split plot design form. The main plot is the application of moringa leaf extract liquidfertilizer consisting of four concentration levels 0%, 5%, 10%, 15% moringa leaf liquid fertilizer. Subplots (SP)was drought stress consisting of three levels of percentage of Field Capacity, namely 100%, 75%, and 50% FC.There were 12 treatment combinations of two units in one replication, each treatment combination was repeated3 times for a total of 72 experimental units. The experiment of moringa leaf liquid fertilizer concentration gave asignificant effect on the increase of plant height, number of tillers, productive tillers, flag leaf area, number ofgrain per plant, grain weight per plant, and grain production per hectare at several levels of droughtstress.Concentration of 15% Moringa leaf liquid fertilizer gives a better effect in increasing the productivity ofupland rice with an average yield of 1507.03 tons/hectare under moderate stress (75% field capasity), and anaverage yield of 1081.66 tons/hectare under high drought stress (50% field capasity).