Survival Rate, Disease Incidence, and Yield of Shallots by Seed Priming and Application of Tithonia Compost Enriched with Gliocladium virens

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of seed priming with Moringa leaf extract (MLE) and the application of Tithonia compost enriched with Gliocladium virens on survival rate, disease incidence, and yield components of shallot. This research was carried out from September to December 2022 at the Teaching Farm, Faculty of Agriculture, Hasanuddin University. The study was conducted with a factorial design of two factors with three replications. The first factor was seed priming, consisting of unprimed hydropriming, 12.5% MLE, 25% MLE, and 37.5% MLE. The second factor is the dose of compost, composed of 0 t/ha, 5 t/ha, 10 t/ha, and 15 t/ha. All data were evaluated using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey’s multiple means comparison to determine statistical differences between treatments at the 95% confidence level. The results showed that seed priming with MLE and Tithonia compost enriched with Gliocladium virens affected the percentage of surviving seedlings after transplanting. Alone, seed priming with MLE at a concentration of 37.5% and application of Tithonia compost at a dose of 15 t/ha had the best effect on the number of bulbs per plant, bulb weight, bulb diameter and bulb production. Furthermore, adding Tithonia compost enriched with Gliocladium virens reduced the incidence of Fusarium wilt. As a result, the use of MLE as a priming agent and the addition of Tithonia compost enriched with Gliocladium virens is recommended.