Performance of Chili Varieties in Incubated Organic Media Enhanced with Biofertilizer

Abstract

The slow release of nutrients in raw organic materials is a major constraint to organic chili cultivation, inhibiting early growth of plants. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the yield performance of various chili variety in organic growing media incubated and enriched with biofertilizer. The use of incubated organic media was intended to ensure the availability of easily absorbed nutrients, while biofertilizer played a role in increasing soil microbial activity. The incubation experiment of growing media with organic materials from cow dung was conducted in the greenhouse of Gunadarma Technopark University (UGTP) using a factorial Completely Randomized Design (CRD) consisting of four factors, namely no incubation (W0), one week (W1), two weeks (W2), three weeks (W3), and four weeks of incubation (W4). The parameters observed were pH, available soil P, organic C, and C/N ratio. The results showed that incubation for 4 weeks increased pH, available soil P, organic C, and C/N ratio. A field trial of chili cultivation with biofertilizer application in the UGTP experimental garden used a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with factorial treatments consisting of 0 ml/L (without biofertilizer), 10 ml/L, 15 ml/L, and 20 ml/L. The parameter observed was the total fruit weight per plant. The highest production was found in the V1 variety, followed by V2 and V3. After four weeks of incubation, soil pH increased by 21.6% to 6.78, while available P reached 30.44 mg kg⁻¹, representing a 52.33% increase over the control. Organic C increased by 91.9%, and the C/N ratio increased from 3.10 to 9.62. In the biofertilizer trial, the highest yield was recorded at 20 mL L⁻¹, with Bonita IPB (V1) showing the highest production among the three varieties. These findings indicate that four weeks of incubation combined with biofertilizer application can improve soil chemical properties and enhance chili yield, particularly in the Bonita IPB variety. Keywords: Agronomy, fertility, genotype, mineralization, productivity, rhizobacteria, sustainability.