Effects of different level of nitrogen fertilizer on growth and production of Cichorium intybus at the eighth regrowth

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the effects of different levels of nitrogen (N) fertilizer on the growth, production, and nutrient content of Cichorium intybus. The study was carried out at the Faculty of Animal Science, Universitas Gadjah Mada. Cichorium intybus were cultivated on a 1x1.5 m plot. Treatments on this study were different levels of nitrogen fertilizer: 0 kg/ha (N0); 25 kg/ha (N1); and 50 kg/ha (N2), with 3 replications on each treatment. Fertilizing was performed once, on day-5 of the growing phase. The height and length of the plants were recorded once a week for 21 days. The Cichorium intybus were defoliated on day-21. For the harvesting, the plants were cut 7.5 cm above the soil. Variables observed in this study include vegetative growth parameters (height and length of the plant, length of the leaf, the width of the leaf, and several leaves) and biomass production (fresh, dry matter (DM) and organic matter (OM) productions). All data were analyzed using one-way variance analysis, followed by Duncan Multiple Range Test for significantly different results. According to this study, the different levels of nitrogen fertilizer significantly affected (P-value <0.05) plant height and length, length and width of leaf, and biomass production. The highest production was obtained on the group receiving 50 kg/ha of nitrogen fertilizer, which produced 16.74 ton/ha fresh production, 1.36 ton/ha DM, and 1.10 ton/ha OM. Hence, it can be concluded that 50 kg/ha of nitrogen fertilizer treatment yields the highest production.