PENGARUH PEMBERIAN PUPUK KANDANG AYAM TERHADAP PERTUMBUHAN TANAMAN SORGUM SEBAGAI PAKAN

EFFECT OF APPLICATION OF CHICKEN MANURE FERTILIZER ON THE GROWTH OF SUPER-1 SORGHUM VARIETY GROWTH. Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) is a potential cereal crop to be cultivated and developed as a ruminant’s fodders in Indonesia, specifically in marginal and dryland areas.The purpose of the present study was to determine the effect of chicken manure as a fertilizer on the growth parameters of super-1 sorghum.This study was conducted using a completely randomized design (CRD) which consists of 4 treatments and 5 replicates in each treatment, with a total of 20 experimental units, was used as experimental design. After a significant F test, Tukey’s test (where necessary) was used to inspect treatment differences among group means. Statistical significance was accepted at P < 0.05. Treatments were formulated as follow: P0 = no fertilizer (as a control), P1 = chicken manure fertilizer of 3.5 tonnes/ha, P2 = chicken manure fertilizer of 4.5 tonnes/ha, and P3 = chicken manure fertilizer of 6.5 tonnes/ha. Variables measured were: plant height, leaves count, and leaves length. Research results showed that treatments gave a significant effect (P <0,05) on plant height, leaves count, and leaves length. Chicken manure fertilizer of 6.5 ton/ha (P3) had a higher plant height, leaves count, and leaves length values compared with P0 (without fertilizer), P1 (chicken manure fertilizer of 3.5 tonnes/ha), and P2 (chicken manure fertilizer of 4.5 tonnes/ha). It can be concluded that the application of chicken manure fertilizer up to 6.5 tonnes/ha gives the best effect on plant height, leaves count, and leaves length of sorghum crops as a fodder . Key words: Chicken manure fertilizer, Growth, Sorghum, Fodders