Effect of Water and Rice Husk Ratio in Water-Based Planting Medium on Growth of Three Rice Varieties (Oryza sativa L.)

Abstract

The agricultural sector faces two serious threats: declining production due to agricultural land conversion and water shortages due to global warming. Therefore, an agricultural system that accommodates the use of vacant land and water saving, in this case, urban farming with the use of soil-less media can be applied. In recent studies, both innovations have shown positive results in various commodities but have not been explored much specifically for rice crops. This study observed the effect of soilless media application (mixed water and rice husks media) on the growth of rice. This experiment was conducted in Sumber Jeruk, Jember (altitude 281 m asl, temperature 21-31°C, RH 65-75%), January-June 2022. The experiment used a completely randomized design with two factors and three replications. The first factor was the ratio of water to rice husk (1:0; 4:1; and 8:1). The second factor was rice varieties (Inpari 46, IR 64, and Mapan 05). The combination of Mapan 05 and media ratio 4:1 showed the highest result on shoot fresh weight (351.95 g) and root fresh weight (346.35 g). Meanwhile, the highest number of root length (45.20 cm) was found in the combination of Mapan 05 and media ratio 8:1. Moreover, Mapan 05 (93.94 cm) and Inpari 46 (93.88 cm) showed no significant difference in plant height. It can be concluded that soil-less media 8;1 promotes the highest result on rice plant growth observed.