Reduction of inorganic fertilizers and application of antagonistic agents to the growth and severity of local gogo blast disease

Abstract

Gogo rice is a potential food alternative to support national food self-sufficiency. But its productivity is still low compared to its production potential. The use of inorganic fertilizers that have not been optimal and infection with blast disease (Pyricularia oryzae) is the main obstacle in increasing the productivity of upland rice. This study aims to evaluate the application of inorganic fertilizers and antagonistic fungi to reduce the severity of blast disease. The design of the experiment uses a separate plot design. The main plot is inorganic fertilizer, and subplots are antagonistic agents Trichoderma asperellum and Paecilomyces sp. (EP11). The results showed that the combination of P2C1 and P2C2 was 50% inorganic fertilizer application (P2), T. asperellum (C1), and Paecilomyces sp. (EP11), produced some tillers that were not significantly different from the recommendation of 100% fertilization, namely 28.27 tillers and 31.27 tillers. There is no difference in the weight of 1000 upland rice seeds combined application of 75% inorganic fertilizer and antagonistic agent (P3C1) with 100% inorganic fertilizer application and 75% antagonistic agent (P4C1), but the application of endophytic fungi can increase the weight of 1000 grains of rice also able to inhibit blast infection up to 12 MST with disease severity still below 6%. Reduction of inorganic fertilizer up to 50% can be made by combining the use of antagonistic fungi, both T. asperellum and Paecilomyces sp. (EP11).