Abstract
Indigofera zollingeriana as animal feed contain high protein and a goodalternative source of feed for livestok. In North Sumatera Province, now adaysIndigofera has been introduced to livestockers. This study aims to determine theeffect of scarification by soaking KNO3 (potassium nitrate) on seed germination andearly growth of Indigofera zollingeriana. This research was carried out at AnimalProduction Laboratory; Animal Husbandry Study Program, Faculty of Agriculture,University of North Sumatra Jl. A. Sofyan No. 3 Medan, which began from November2018 to January 2019. The design used was a factorial completely randomized design(RAL) with 12 combination factors, each of which contained 3 replications where eachreplication contained 15 seeds of Indigofera zollingeriana. The treatment consisted of2 factors, namely the K factor = KNO3 concentration, K0 = control, K1 = 4 g / l, K2 =8 g / l, K3 = 12 g / l repeatedly, and L factor = soaking time, L1 = 4 hours, L2 = 8hours, L3 = 12 hours .The results showed that the administration of KNO3 and soaking time on Indigoferazollingeriana seeds had a significant effect on the percentage of sprouts, sprout height,and growing power. The conclusion of the use of KNO3 with levels of 4 grams and 8grams has a positive impact on the percentage of germination and height of indigoferazollingeriana and the duration of 12 hours immersion in the seeds of indigoferazollingeriana also gives a positive effect on the percentage of sprouts and sproutheight, and the best percentage of growth is on the use of 8 grams of KNO3 with 8hours of soaking time.
Highlights
Indigofera plants (Indigofera zollingeriana) are ruminant feed which are reported to have good adaptability to various environmental conditions, such as acidic soils and high salinity soils and are tolerant of long dry climates
The distribution of indigofera zollingeriana plants in North Sumatra is still too small because the percentage of sprouts that grow only ranges from 20% - 60% because Indigofera zollingeriana plants have quite small seeds and when the sprouts that grow are small so they are very vulnerable to excessive water
Based on the description above, the researchers were interested in conducting a study of the effect of scarification with KNO3 on seed germination and early Indigofera zollingeriana growth as animal feed ingredients because the effect of immersion can affect the breakdown of dormancy in seeds so that it can affect seed germination
Summary
Indigofera plants (Indigofera zollingeriana) are ruminant feed which are reported to have good adaptability to various environmental conditions, such as acidic soils and high salinity soils and are tolerant of long dry climates. This plant is known to contain protein that is quite high when compared to the type of herbaceous, and has the potential as a source of high protein and can be produced locally. Scarification is usually done on hard seed shells, for example in the seeds of lamtoro, Indigofera zollingeriana, and others usually carried out by mechanical treatment, hot water or chemical treatment using potassium nitrate. Based on the description above, the researchers were interested in conducting a study of the effect of scarification with KNO3 on seed germination and early Indigofera zollingeriana growth as animal feed ingredients because the effect of immersion can affect the breakdown of dormancy in seeds so that it can affect seed germination
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