Growth and yield responses of two chili varieties on liquid bio-organic fertilizer

One of the horticultural commodities that often causes price fluctuations is chili. The main problem is plant productivity which is low and unstable from one growing season to another, as a result of the application of cultivation technology that is not optimal, especially the use of types and doses of fertilizers. This research was carried out with the main objective of increasing the productivity of two varieties of chili plants by using liquid bio-organic fertilizers. The research was conducted in April-November 2022, in Sidera Village, Sigi-Biromaru District, Sigi Regency. In this study a split plot design was used. The main plot was chili varieties, consisting of: (V1) Bara and (V2) Ozil. The sub plot was the concentration of liquid bio-organic fertilizer (LBO), consisting of: (K0) without LBO, (K1) 2 ml/L water, (K2) 4 ml/L water, (K3) 6 ml/L water, (K4) 8 ml/L water, and (K5) 10 ml/L water. Each treatment was repeated 3 times, so there were 12 experimental units. The results showed: (i) the Ozil variety was more responsive to the application of bio-organic fertilizer, where with a concentration of 8-10 ml/L of water it could produce taller plants, length and larger fruit diameter, compared to the Bara variety with a concentration of bio-organic fertilizer other (ii) The Ozil variety produced taller plants, the number of leaves and the number of branches was higher, the weight per 10 fruits and the weight per fruit were higher, the number of fruits and fruit weight per plant as well as the fruit weight per plot and fruit weight per hectare were higher compared to Bara variety and (iii) The number of branches, weight per 10 pods, weight per pod, number of pods and pod weight per chili plant were obtained higher by the application of herbafarm bio-organic fertilizer 8-10 ml/L of water.


Introduction
Chili pepper is one of the world's largest and most valuable vegetable crops.Hot chili (Capsicum frustescens L.) is a horticultural plant from the Solanaceae family which not only has high economic value, but can also be used for industrial purposes including the cooking seasoning industry, and the medicine or herbal industry [1].Chili plants have smooth, medium-sized, elliptical-shaped leaves with slender branches 30-120 cm long.Plants can reach full size in hot climates.Chili plants can produce around 120 pods in one season.The fruit is erect, and shows less variation in color, shape, and size than Capsicum annuum, C. chinense, and C. baccatum.Chili, one of the most cultivated plants in the world, from the genus Capsicum sp., has great importance both in human nutrition and in the pharmaceutical industry [2].
Peppers are an important source of nutrients in the human diet and an excellent source of vitamins A and C as well as phenolic compounds which are important antioxidants.Levels of these compounds IOP Publishing doi:10.1088/1755-1315/1253/1/012034 2 can vary by genotypes and maturity as well as growing conditions.Growth, yield and nutritional value of vegetable crops are largely affected by the applied fertilizers [3].So, it is imperative to grow the crop under the most optimum nutrient conditions, thus the producer can get the highest profitable yield and also to obtain fruits rich in the nutritional constituents which are vital for health [4].Application of biostimulants can be considered as a good strategy for obtaining high yields of nutritional value vegetables with lower environmental impact [5].
Chili production and productivity in Indonesia and Central Sulawesi still fluctuate in each harvest season.The main cause of chili production that is still unstable is the application of good cultivation technology according to GAP (Good Agriculture Procedure) standards that have not been widely applied by farming communities.Especially the use of superior chili varieties and the use of the right fertilizer both in terms of type, dosage, method and time of application.
One alternative cultivation technology that needs to be studied in this study is the use of liquid bioorganic fertilizers for two hot chili varieties.The results of this study are expected to be the right solution in the development of chili commodities, especially in chili development center areas in Central Sulawesi.Liquid bio-organic fertilizer, in addition to containing various kinds of nutrients needed by plants, is also equipped with several micro-organisms which play a major role in increasing plant resistance to pests and diseases, so that growth and productivity are maximized [6].
This research is one of the strategic efforts to find a solution to the problem of scarcity of chili production in certain seasons, which in turn has an impact on increasing the price of chili which causes price fluctuations in the market, especially at the national level.By increasing the productivity of chilies in a sustainable manner, it will cause price fluctuations to be suppressed or avoided, because the productivity and results of farming from this chili commodity can guarantee the availability of sustainable production.
The application of various concentrations of liquid organic fertilizer and doses of NPK fertilizer had a significant effect on the growth and yield of red chilies [8].Herbafarm liquid organic fertilizer with a concentration of 6 ml/liter of water produced higher plant height, stem diameter, number of productive branches, fruit diameter, number of fruits, fruit length, fruit fresh weight, and fruit dry weight compared to without herbafarm liquid organic fertilizer [9].
The application of liquid organic fertilizer plus seaweed biofertilizer showed significant advantages in the number of leaves per plant and dry matter of the vegetative system and all the indicators studied [10].One type of fertilizer product in the Bio-organic group is herbafarm which contains organic nutrients and soil microorganisms which are formulated from herbal by-products made from medicinal plants and spices [11].Herbafarm liquid organic fertilizer contains macro and micro nutrients needed by plants, contains humic acid, fulvic acid, plant hormones, and contains microbial biofertilizers which play an important role in fixing and absorbing nutrients by plants.Liquid organic fertilizer can change the soil to be more friable, increase soil pH, and useful microbes can develop properly, while soil pathogens can be suppressed.The results of [12] found that herbafarm liquid organic fertilizer could increase shallot yields with a tuber dry weight of 12.28 tons/ha.

Methods
The research was conducted in April-November 2022.The research location was a chili production center in Sidera Village, Kec.Sigi-Biromaru Kab.Sigi.In this study a split plot design was used.The main plot was chili varieties, consisting of: (V1) Bara and (V2) Ozil.The sub-plot was the concentration of liquid bio-organic fertilizer (LBO), consisting of: (K0) without LBO, (K1) LBO with a concentration of 2 ml/L water, (K2) LBO with a concentration of 4 ml/L of water, (K3) LBO with a concentration of 6 ml/L water, (K4) LBO concentration 8 ml/L water, and (K5) LBO concentration 10 ml/L water.Each treatment combination was repeated 3 times, so there were 12 experimental units.Observational data were analyzed using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), if there was a significant effect it was continued with the Tukey test at a P-value 95% [13].
The size of the beds is 210 cm wide x 350 cm long x 25 cm high.The distance between the treatment beds was 50 cm, while the distance between replicates was 75 cm.Chili planting distance 75 x 50 cm.In each hole, plant 1 chili seed (variety depending on treatment) which is 20-25 days old or has 2-3 pairs of leaves.In each experimental plot, organic fertilizer from goat manure bokashi was given, equivalent to a dose of 15 t/ha.Application of inorganic fertilizer NPK (15:15:15) as much as 100 kg/ha/plot as basic fertilizer to stimulate the initial growth of chili plants.NPK fertilizer is applied when the plants are 15 days after planting.
To determine the effect of treatment, observations were made on plant height, number of leaves, number of productive branches, number of fruit per plant, total fruit per plant for 10 harvests, weight per 10 fruit, fruit fresh weight per plant for 10 harvests, and fruit weight per hectare.

Plant height
The results of the analysis of variance showed that the interaction of varieties and LBO concentrations had a significant effect on plant height at the age of 25 DAP., whereas at ages 15, 35, 45 and 55 DAP had no significant effect.The results of the Tukey test at a P-value 0.05 showed that at the age of 25 DAP, the combination treatment of the Ozil variety with various LBO concentrations produced higher chilli plants, and was significantly different from the Bara variety and all treatments with different LBO concentrations.In general, chili peppers of the Bara variety grew shorter, even though they were given different concentrations of LBO (Table 1).This can be explained that each variety has different characteristics and features, as well as having different adaptability and response to fertilization.Ozil variety has a fairly good response to the application of nutrients to support its vegetative growth.The application of LBO affects the vegetative growth of hot chili plants.This can happen because in the vegetative phase, plants need a lot of N elements, where N elements play an important role in the synthesis of chlorophyll, amino acids, proteins, and stimulate the growth of apical meristems, which will be useful for increasing plant height and number of leaves [8].Therefore, chili plants are expected to benefit from N fertilization because sufficient supply will overcome the N deficiency and result in rapid vegetative growth, dark green color and higher fruit yields [14].That N nutrition affects vegetative growth, quality and yield of most vegetables and if a deficiency occurs it produces a dark pale green, yellowish green color that progresses to necrosis on older leaves and general leaf development is impaired.The application of eggshell organic fertilizer can increase the vegetative growth of cayenne pepper [15].

Number of productive branches
The results of the analysis of variance showed that the interaction of varieties and concentrations of LBO had a significant effect on the number of branches of chili plants at the age of 45 DAP.Tukey test at a P-value 0.05 (Table 1) showed that the combination of Bara varieties and LBO 10 ml/L water (V1K5) and Bara varieties and LBO 8 ml/L water (V1K4) produced the highest number of chili branches and was significantly different from the combination varieties and other LBO concentration treatments.The Bara variety with a LBO of 8-10 ml/L of water produced a higher number of branches compared to other combination varieties and LBO concentrations.Application of LBO which contains various macro and micro nutrients to encourage the generative growth of chili plants, especially the Bara variety.The Ozil variety has a high response to nutrient applications, so that different concentrations of LBO can produce different growth and yields.At Herbafarm LBO there is soil microbiology which contains various macro and micro nutrients as well as several types of microbes plays a role in improving the physical, chemical and biological properties of soil, providing essential nutrients for plants, stimulating plant growth and increasing resistance to pests and diseases, increasing soil microbiological activity, so that the absorption of nutrients becomes more efficient, as well as increases the efficiency of fertilization and ultimately provides better plant growth [16].

Weight per 10 fruit
The results of the analysis of variance showed that the interaction of varieties and concentrations of LBO had no significant effect on weight per 10 fruit; but the variety and concentration of LBO significantly affected the weight per 10 chili plants.The results of the Tukey test at a P-value 0.05 (Table 2) showed that the Ozil variety produced a higher weight per 10 chilies (10.07 g) and was significantly different from the Bara variety (9.06 g).Furthermore, Table 3 shows that the fresh weight per 10 chilies was obtained at most in the LBO 10 ml/L water (11.09g) treatment and was significantly different from the other treatments, but not significantly different from the LBO 10 ml/L water (10.09g), but not significantly different from other LBO treatments.The nutrient content of fertilizers with high concentrations will result in decreased nutrient uptake, because high nutrient concentrations can cause the solution to become more concentrated beyond the concentration of cell fluids, so it cannot be absorbed by plant roots, because the osmotic pressure outside the cell is smaller than the pressure inside the cell [17].

Number of fruits per plant
The results of variance showed that the interaction of variety and concentration of LBO had no significant effect on the number of fruits per chili plant, but the variety factor and the concentration of each LBO had a significant effect on the number of fruits per chili plant.The results of the Tukey test at a P-value 0.05 (Table 3) showed that the Ozil variety (V2) produced a higher number of fruits per plant, namely 71.25 fruits, and was significantly different from the Bara variety (V1), which was 70.70 fruits.This shows that the Ozil variety is a cayenne pepper variety that has more advantages compared to other varieties, due to a higher production rate, a longer production life, resistance to bacterial wilt and a longer fruit shelf life of up to 5-6 days.. Furthermore, in Table 3, it is also shown that the number of fruits per chili plant was obtained at a LBO concentration of 10 ml/L water (K5) and was significantly different from other LBO treatments, but not significantly different from a LBO concentration of 8 ml/L water (K4).

Fruit weight per plant
The results of variance showed that the interaction of variety and concentration of LBO had no significant effect on fruit weight per chili plant, but the variety factor and concentration of LBO each had a significant effect on fruit weight per chili plant.The results of the Tukey test at a P-value 0.05 (Table 4) showed that the Ozil variety (V2) produced more fruit weight per plant, namely 74.42 g/plant, and was significantly different from the Bara variety (V1), which was 61.67 g/plant.That even at low doses, fertilization increases fruit yields dramatically but that over-fertilization can have a negative effect on the efficiency of plant nutrient use and result in diminishing financial returns [18].Furthermore, fruit weight per plant was obtained at a LBO concentration of 10 ml/L water (K5), which was 89.29 g/plant and significantly different from other LBO treatments, but not significantly different from a LBO concentration of 8 ml/L water (K4), namely 82.99 g/plant (Table 4).The application of LBO 8-10 ml/L of water gave the weight yield per 10 pods and the number of pods per plant.This shows that the herbafarm LBO is able to provide the supply of nutrients needed by chili plants in their growth process.LBO fertilizer contains nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium nutrients [19].

Fruit weight per hectare
The results of the analysis of variance showed that the interaction of varieties and concentrations of LBO had no significant effect on fruit weight per hectare.However, each variety and concentration of LBO had a significant effect on fruit weight per hectare.The results of the Tukey test at a P-value 0.05 (Table 5) showed that the Ozil variety (V2) produced higher fruit weight per hectare, namely 11.44 tons/ha, and was significantly different from the Bara variety (V1), which was 9.52 tons/ha.Furthermore, chili fruit weight per hectare was obtained at a LBO concentration of 10 ml/L water (K5) and was significantly different from other LBO treatments (Table 5).The number of branches, weight per 10 fruit, number of fruit per plant, fruit weight per plant and chili fruit weight per hectare were found to be higher by giving LBO herbafarm 8-10 ml/L of water.This is because the LBO herbafarm contains macro and micro nutrients and microbes that are able to encourage the growth and development of plants, including chili plants [19].Macro nutrients are needed by plants, both in the vegetative and generative phases.LBO concentrations of 8-10 ml/L of water can provide a higher number of fruit, fruit weight per plant and fruit weight per hectare than other treatments.In the generative phase, element P plays a large role in the respiration process, and is a source of energy that can help plants during the development of the generative phase [20].In addition, element P can also accelerate flower growth, fruit formation and fruit and seed enlargement [14].Element K is a macro element which is also very important in the generative phase, because this element can strengthen plant organs and plays an important role in influencing osmotic pressure and plant turgor and the process of opening and closing stomata.The opening and closing of stomata plays an important role in the entry of CO2 into the leaves, so that it can affect the effectiveness of photosynthesis and increase photosynthate which will be distributed to all parts and organs of the plant [10].

Conclusions
The results showed: (i) Chili variety Ozil was more responsive to the application of "herbafarm" bioorganic fertilizer, whereby a concentration of 8-10 ml/L of water produced chili plants that were taller, fruit length and diameter larger, compared to the Bara variety with concentration of other liquid bioorganic fertilizers; (ii) The Ozil variety produces taller plants, the number of leaves and the number of branches is higher, the weight per 10 fruits and the weight per fruit are higher, the number of fruits per plant, fruit weight per plant, fruit weight per plot and fruit weight per hectare are higher , compared to the Bara variety; and (iii) The number of branches, weight per 10 pods, weight per pod, number of pods and pod weight per plant were obtained higher by applying herbafarm liquid bio-organic fertilizer 8-10 ml/L of water.
In order to obtain higher growth and yield of chilies, herbafarm liquid bio-organic fertilizer can be used, but it still needs further research on the most appropriate concentration for each variety of hot chili plants.

Table 1 .
Average plant height (cm) at 25 DAP and number of productive branches at 45 DAP from the interaction of varieties with LBO concentrations.Numbers followed by the same letter in the same column are not significantly different in the honest test of α 0.05.

Table 2 .
Average weight per 10 fruit (g) of two chili varieties.Numbers followed by the same letter in the same column are not significantly different in the honest test of α 0.05.

Table 3 .
Average fresh weight per 10 plants at various concentrations of LBO.Numbers followed by the same letter in the same column are not significantly different in the honest test of α 0.05.

Table 4 .
Average fruit weight per hectare of two chili varieties.Numbers followed by the same letter in the same column are not significantly different in the honest test of α 0.05.

Table 5 .
Average fruit weight per hectare at various LBO concentrations.Numbers followed by the same letter in the same column are not significantly different in the honest test of α 0.05.