The Giving Response of Compost Leaves of Gamal, Kaliandra, and Lamtoro on the Growth of Arrowroot Plants (Maranta arundinacea)

Agroforestry technology in forest area land management aims to increase land productivity sustainably. The aims of the study were to: (1) examine the effect of compost from leaf litter on three different tree species on the growth of arrowroot seedlings, (2) examine differences in arrowroot growth given various types of compost from leaf litter on three different tree species, and (3) to determine the best type of leaf litter compost for the growth of arrowroot seedlings. Observations were made on plant height, number of leaves, clumps, tuber productivity, and total dry weight in 20 observation units using a completely randomized design (CRD). The research data were then analyzed for variance. Then if there were significant differences, the DMRT (Duncan Multiple Range Test) follow-up test was continued. The results showed that the use of compost had a considerable effect on plant height and number of leaves. However, compost did not affect the number of clumps, total dry weight, and arrowroot tuber productivity. The results showed that gamal compost had the highest tuber productivity, namely 37.73 gr/plant, followed by lamtoro compost at 33.98 gr/plant, and calliandra compost at 23.05 gr/plant.


Introduction
Agroforestry technology in forest land management aims to increase land productivity sustainably.One of the key aspects of sustainable land management is paying attention to soil conservation.Soil fertility is important to increase or maintain so that the land's carrying capacity does not decrease and productivity remains sustainable [1].Sustainable soil management involves controlling inputs in land use processes to achieve high productivity sustainably, improve soil quality, and improve environmental characteristics [2].
In the context of agroforestry, the selection of types of crops that can grow under shade is important.The selection aims to avoid adverse interactions between plants, such as possible effects of allelopathy, nutrient competition, and light.Agroforestry systems with varying shade distribution, from light to heavy canopy, are suitable for growing intercrops such as tubers.However, the cultivation of tubers below stands in agroforestry systems is still not well known by the community, so the potential of these tubers has not been widely utilized.An example of a type of tuber that can grow under an agroforestry stand is the arrowroot tuber (Maranta arundinacea) [3].The problem of food is an important issue at this time, and arrowroot can be an alternative to overcoming this problem.Arrowroot tubers contain good carbohydrates, even better than other tubers.Arrowroot tubers have the potential to substitute wheat flour based on their nutritional content [4].However, arrowroot cultivation in Indonesia has yet to be carried out intensively, so efforts are needed to promote the use of arrowroot raw materials and their cultivation [5].
Therefore, arrowroot tubers (M.arundinacea) have the potential to be used as food crops in agroforestry systems.Research involving the use of compost from three different trees is needed to understand the growth of arrowroot (M.arundinacea) tubers and the combination of leaf litter compost suitable for these plants' growth.The aim of this study was to examine the effect of compost from leaf litter on three different trees on arrowroot seedlings, to examine differences in the growth of arrowroot given various composts from leaf litter on three different trees, and to explain the best type of leaf litter compost for arrowroot seedling growth.

Data collection
This research was conducted from January 2023 to May 2023 in the nursery of the Department of Silviculture and Forest Ecology Laboratory, Faculty of Forestry and Environment, Bogor Agricultural University.
The tools used in this study included barrels, cutting tools (knives, scissors), polybags, laptops, smartphones, rulers, and tally sheets.The materials used were dried leaves from three types of trees (kaliandra, gamal, lamtoro), water, liquid EM (Effective Microorganism) 4 fertilizer, brown sugar, white sugar, and arrowroot plant seeds (M.arundinacea).

Research procedure
The research was conducted through several stages: making compost, planting arrowroot seeds, plant maintenance, data processing, and data analysis.The arrowroot seeds used came from the Biopharmaka Experimental Garden, Cikabayan.The compost is made from the leaves of Kaliandra (Calliandra calothyrsus), Gamal (Gliricidia sepium), and Lamtoro (Leucanea leucocephala).The leaves of the three trees were obtained from stands around the Faculty of Forestry and Environment and around the Dramaga Campus of IPB.
Compost production starts with collecting Kaliandra, Gamal, and Lamtoro leaves.Next, sorting is done between the dry leaves and the leaves that are still wet or fresh, and the water content of the leaves that are still wet or fresh is reduced by drying them in the sun.This activity is carried out so that the ripening of the compost can be evenly distributed.The leaves to be used as compost are then cut into small pieces.Then, the leaves are put into a container filled with liquid containing EM4 solution, dissolved with water and sugar.
The leaf litter mixed with EM4 was mixed until it was uniform and solid.The composting process stops when it reaches full maturity, which takes 15-30 days.During the decomposition process, changes in color, odor, and texture occur in the material.This change is caused by the presence of materials added to the compost and the activity of microorganisms in the organic matter.After a maximum of 30 days, the compost is ripe, which can be seen from the physical properties of the compost.Dry leaf compost that has become brown tends to be dark, brittle and has a slightly rough texture, has no odor, and is in the form of loose granules.
This study used a completely randomized design (CRD) with 1 factor, namely the planting method.The treatment of the planting method consisted of 4 levels, namely: (1) planting using only soil (control) (P0), (2) planting using a mixture of soil with calliandra compost (PKK), (3) planting using a mixture of soil with gamal compost fertilizer (PKG), (4) planting using a mixture of soil with lamtoro compost fertilizer (PKL).The experiment was performed in 5 replications, each consisting of 1 polybag.Each polybag contains one arrowroot seed, so there are 20 observation units.Arrowroot seed planting is done after composting.Plant maintenance is carried out once a week by cleaning weeds around the polybags and monitoring pest attacks.Data collection on arrowroot plants (M.arundinacea) includes (1) Plant height, (2) Number of leaves, (3) Number of tillers, (4) Tuber productivity, and (5) Total dry weight.The research data was then analyzed using variance with the help of Microsoft Excel software and IBM SPSS Statistics 25 software.Decision making based on the variance results is: reject H0 and accept H1 if F count > F table, and accept H0 and reject H1 if F count < F table.If there are real differences between treatments, then further tests are carried out using the Duncan Multiple Range Test (DMRT).

Plant Height
This research was conducted by observing plant height.The average results of observing plant height after three months from the time of planting are presented in Figure 1. Figure 1 shows that the height of the arrowroot (M.arundinacea) seedlings at the end of the week of planting, with the control treatment (100% soil) had the lowest value with a plant height of 16.8 cm.While the gamal compost treatment had the highest value with a plant height of 74.6 cm.
The observation with the control treatment (100% soil) showed the lowest plant height because there was no application of nutrients in the control treatment with 100% soil, so plant height growth was rather slow.In contrast, the gamal compost treatment showed the highest plant height due to nutrients in compost being suitable for the high growth of arrowroot seedlings.This result aligns with the state that red spinach plants are given nutrients in the form of compost at the appropriate dosage and placed in conditions that support the plant to experience upward growth and become taller [6].

Number of leaves
This research was conducted by observing the number of leaves.The average number of leaves observed are presented in Figure 2. Figure 2 shows the number of leaves of the arrowroot seedlings (M.arundinacea) at the end of the week of planting, with the control treatment (100% soil) having the lowest value with six leaves.In contrast, the treatment of calliandra compost had the highest value with 12 leaves.
The results of observations in the control group showed the lowest number of leaves, while the compost treatment group showed a higher number of leaves on average.This result shows that applying organic fertilizers, such as compost, has an active role in increasing the growth of the number of leaves.The results of observations in the control group showed the lowest number of leaves, while the compost treatment group showed a higher number of leaves on average.This result shows that applying organic fertilizers, such as compost, has an active role in increasing the growth of the number of leaves.Applying organic fertilizers can increase the humus content in the soil and improve soil nutrients.Compost manure can increase the C-organic content, soil N-NO3, total N, Ca, Mg, K, Cu, and soil Zn [7].In addition, providing nitrogen (N) nutrients can also increase the growth of the number of leaves in arrowroot plant seeds.
In this research, follow-up tests were carried out on plant height and number of leaves of arrowroot seedlings (M.arundinacea).Further test results are presented in Table 1.
Based on the data in Table 1, it can be seen that the plant height and number of leaves on arrowroot (M.arundinacea) seedlings showed a significant effect between the use of organic compost (kaliandra, gamal, and lamtoro) using only soil as a planting medium.These results align with the state using organic fertilizers can significantly increase growth, especially plant height and number of leaves [8].Applying organic fertilizers can accelerate the growth rate of plants [9].It is because the presence of the Note: Numbers in the same column followed by the same letter are marked as having no significant effect N nutrient in organic fertilizer can activate plant cells, which can encourage the formation of new cells that affect the height and number of leaves on plants [10].

Number of clumps
This study was observed for the number of clumps.The average number of clumps observed is presented in Figure 3. Based on Figure 3 shows that the number of arrowroot (M.arundinacea) seedlings at the end of the week of planting, with the control treatment (100% soil) has the lowest value with some clusters of 1 segment.At the same time, the lamtoro compost treatment had the highest value with a total of 4 clumps.Observations on the number of clumps on arrowroot (M.arundinacea) showed that the type of fertilizer applied affected increasing the number of clumps.The compost treatment from calliandra, gamal, and lamtoro showed an average number of clumps higher than the control treatment (P0).The control treatment does not receive nutrients crucial in increasing clumps.Therefore, the control treatment using pure soil (without fertilizer) showed the lowest average number of clumps.Meanwhile, the compost from lamtoro showed the highest average number of clumps because the nutrients in the compost were suitable for supporting the growth of leaf area in arrowroot (M.arundinacea) seedlings.Fertilization with the right dose will affect the growth of clumps, indicating that the plant is active in growth [11].
Data from analysis of variance showed that the parameters of plant height and number of leaves gave a value of <0.05, indicating a significant influence on the growth of arrowroot (M.arundinacea) seedlings.However, for the number of clumps parameter, the value is > 0.05, indicating that the observed data has no significant effect.Similar research also reported that it did not significantly affect the number of clumps [12].Still, it did significantly increase plant height, stem diameter, number of leaves, and total leaf area.
Several factors can cause the insignificant data factor.First, the concentration of fertilizer given may have yet to reach the arrowroot plant growth threshold.In addition, the characteristics of the arrowroot plant (M.arundinacea), which has a long growth period and bulbous and periodic nature, also require a longer research time.In this study, researchers used a relatively short time.Other supporting factors are genetic differences between arrowroot plant seeds, differences in treatment, and environmental factors.Genetic differences can affect the adaptation of arrowroot plants to the environment, even when environmental conditions are homogenized [7].

Tuber productivity
Tuber productivity is used as an indicator of the number of tubers produced per individual arrowroot plant.The productivity of arrowroot tubers harvested three months after planting is presented in Table 2.
The highest arrowroot tuber productivity was found using gamal compost fertilizer.Arrowroot tuber productivity was different for each treatment.This finding is in line with the research on sweet potato plants that adding organic fertilizer to plants will increase the nutrient content to increase plant growth and production [13].High tuber yields depend on their ability to produce tubers and conditions suitable for the growth and development rate of tubers which are influenced by nutrition, nutrient provision, competition between plants, and light intensity or quality [14].
Planting arrowroot plants in polybags with the same treatment, such as using shade, resulted in greater tuber productivity.Harvested planted in polybags have a higher average weight compared to harvests carried out in the field [15].This comparison is due to competition for space, where competition in a large space is generally less than tubers growing in a narrow space, as long as other factors do not limit plant growth [16].However, planting in polybags requires more intensive care.Arrowroot tubers harvested three months after planting can be consumed directly by boiling them into boiled arrowroot.

Total dry weight
Measurement of total dry weight or dry weight of stover represents the photosynthesis results in plants due to capturing solar energy [17].Dry weight measurement data is presented in Table 3.
There is a relationship between plant dry weight and fresh weight, where the greater the fresh weight of the plant, the greater the dry weight [18].Sunlight is the main factor affecting the process of photosynthesis.Photosynthesis increases plant dry weight due to CO2 absorption, while respiration reduces dry weight due to CO2 expenditure [19].A high dry weight value indicates a higher photosynthate content due to the optimal photosynthetic process.Giving different types of fertilizer treatment did not produce a significant difference.This difference can happen because genetic and environmental factors are more dominant, so applying compost and using soil as a planting medium alone does not produce a difference in dry weight [20].
The highest dry weight in the study results was found in the control treatment.This finding is not in line with the statement that the dry weight of plants is also affected by the number of clumps, where the more clumps formed, the greater the dry weight of the plant [21].These results can occur due to genetic differences that cause differences in plant dry weight yields.

Conclusion
Application of compost (kaliandra, gamal, lamtoro) can increase the growth of arrowroot (M.arundinacea) seedlings.Compared to only using soil as a planting medium, arrowroot productivity with the addition of compost can increase tuber yield.Applying gamal compost fertilizer can give the highest arrowroot tuber yield of 37.73 gr/plant, compared to lamtoro compost fertilizer of 33.98 gr/plant and kaliandra of 23.05 gr/plant.Planting arrowroot in a polybag measuring 30x30 cm resulted in clumps growing until they grew out of the polybag.Therefore, planting arrowroot plants using polybags needs to use a larger size.In addition, further research is needed regarding compost fertilizer doses (kaliandra, gamal, lamtoro) at different levels.

Figure 2 .
Figure 2. The addition of the number of leaves of the arrowroot plant chart.

Figure 3 .
Figure 3.The number of clumps of arrowroot plants chart.

Table 1 .
The further test results of plant height and number of leaves of arrowroot plants for each treatment.

Table 2 .
Arrowroot tuber productivity in each treatment.

Table 3 .
Total dry weight of arrowroot plants in each treatment.