Effect of saline condition and application of rice husk silica extract on lettuce growth in hydroponics

Abstract

The development of hydroponic vegetable production in coastal areas is faced with the constraints of irrigation water quality that has high NaCl. The purpose of this research is to study the interaction of NaCl concentration in the planting media and the concentration of silica extract of rice husk on the growth of lettuce plants. The study was conducted in April 2019-June 2019 at the greenhouse Palasari-Cibiru Bandung city with altitude + 800 m above sea level. This study used a factorial complete randomized design consisting of 2 factors with three replications. The first factor is the concentration of NaCl (n1 = 0 ppm, n2 = 1,460 ppm, n3 = 2920 ppm, n4 = 4380 ppm, and n5 5850 ppm) and the second factor is the concentration of silica extract of rice husk (s1 = 0 ml l−1, 30 ml l−1, and 45 ml l−1). Growth parameters observed were plant height, number of leaves, leaf area, root length, and plant fresh weight. The results showed that there was an independent effect on the concentration of NaCl on fresh plant weight. In the condition of saline media with a concentration of NaCl 1,460 ppm-2,920 ppm and the concentration of silica extract of rice husk, 30 ml l-1 lettuce plants can grow in good condition.