Study on the preparation of substrate from coconut coir dust with addition of azotobacter for lettuce planting

Abstract

The requirement to produce an optimal method for healthy and fresh vegetable production with high quality and without any harmful accumulative effect to soil is a topic of universal interest at this moment. Base on this idea, this research had been carried out with purpose to investigate different planting components and strategies, finally combined them to give the best method. Within the research theme, coconut coir and peat were used as the main substrates, they were separately treated with different methods, quality tested and combined with different ratios to compare which substrate and ratio give highest results. Moreover, the effect of Azotobacter, which was grown in various medium, and nutritional solution with different concentration on plant growth were also examined. The recorded results indicated that the Azotobacter could be grown best in compost medium, coconut coir dust need to be treated by water 24-36 hours to eliminate mineral elements and reduce EC values. In addition, by combining of coconut coir and peat with Azotobacter supply, the ratio 30:70 and 50:50 were proved as the most suitable mix for the Green Lollo and Frisee lettuce, respectively. Moreover, by adding Azotobacter and nutritional solution, the vegetables were recorded to be grown even better. Finally, the research came to conclusion that different kinds of lettuce need different mixing ratio of coir-peat to be ideally grown with addition of specific amount of Azotobacter and nutritional concentration. Further investigation should be done with several other vegetables and microorganism to make ideal products in industrial scale which are easily and convenient for agricultural cultivation.