Electronic Theses and Dissertation

Sarang rayap diketahui memiliki kandungan hara makro dan bahan organik yang tinggi sehingga berpotensi meningkatkan kesuburan tanah dan mendukung pertumbuhan tanaman. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh penambahan sarang rayap dari genus Hospitalitermes asal Stasiun Penelitian Soraya terhadap pertumbuhan vegetatif tanaman nilam (Pogostemon cablin) serta perubahan sifat kimia media tanam. Penelitian dilaksanakan menggunakan Rancangan Acak Kelompok (RAK) dengan lima perlakuan berupa rasio tanah dan sarang rayap, yaitu 1:0 (P0), 0,75:0,25 (P1), 0,5:0,5 (P2), 0,25:0,75 (P3), dan 0:1 (P4) yang diamati selama sepuluh minggu. Parameter yang diamati meliputi tinggi tanaman, diameter batang, jumlah cabang, panjang dan lebar helaian daun, serta analisis kimia media tanam yang mencakup pH, nitrogen total (N-total), fosfor tersedia (P), kalium (K), karbon organik (C-organik), kalsium (Ca), dan magnesium (Mg). Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa penambahan sarang rayap berpengaruh nyata terhadap sebagian besar parameter pertumbuhan vegetatif tanaman nilam, yaitu tinggi tanaman, diameter batang, dan jumlah cabang. Perlakuan P3 menghasilkan pertumbuhan terbaik secara signifikan dibandingkan perlakuan lainnya. Selain itu, penambahan sarang rayap meningkatkan kandungan N, P, K, dan C-organik dalam media tanam, meskipun disertai penurunan pH yang signifikan. Kandungan unsur Ca dan Mg tidak mengalami perubahan yang berarti. Informasi ini mengindikasikan bahwa sarang rayap memiliki potensi sebagai bahan organik alternatif yang efektif untuk memperbaiki kesuburan kimia media tanam serta mendukung pertumbuhan vegetatif tanaman nilam secara optimal.

Kata Kunci: Sarang rayap, Media tanam, Nilam

Termite nests are known to contain high macro-nutrients and organic matter, which have the potential to increase soil fertility and support plant growth. This study aims to determine the effect of adding termite nests from the genus Hospitalitermes from Soraya Research Station on the vegetative growth of patchouli (Pogostemon cablin) plants and changes in the chemical properties of the planting media. The research was conducted using a Randomized Group Design (RAK) with five treatments in the form of soil and termite nest ratios, namely 1:0 (P0), 0,75:0,25 (P1), 0,5:0,5 (P2), 0,25:0,75 (P3), and 0:1 (P4) which were observed for ten weeks. Parameters observed included plant height, stem diameter, number of branches, length and width of leaf blade, as well as chemical analysis of growing media including pH, total nitrogen (N-total), available phosphorus (P), potassium (K), organic carbon (C-organic), calcium (Ca), and magnesium (Mg). The results showed that the addition of termite nest significantly affected most of the vegetative growth parameters of patchouli plants, namely plant height, stem diameter, and number of branches. The P3 treatment produced the best growth significantly compared to other treatments. In addition, the addition of termite nests increased the content of N, P, K, and C-organic in the growing medium, although accompanied by a significant decrease in pH. The content of Ca and Mg did not change significantly. These findings indicate that termite nests have strong potential as an alternative organic amendment to improve the chemical fertility of planting media and to enhance the vegetative growth of patchouli plants effectively. Keywords: Termite nest, Growing media, Patchouli plants