Comparative Study of Silicate and Phosphate-Solubilizing Organisms Application for Reducing P Retention and Enhancing Corn Plant Growth (Zea mays L.) on Andisol

Abstract

A greenhouse study comparing the application of Silicate (lemongrass leaves and rice straw) versus Phosphate-Solubilizing Organisms (phosphate-solubilizing bacteria and phosphate-solubilizing fungi) in reducing P retention and its effects on corn plant growth in Andisol soil. This study used a Non-Factorial Randomized Block Design (RBD) with treatments consisting of: control, lemongrass leaf silicate (433,20 g/pot ), straw silicate (120,42 g/pot ), phosphate-solubilizing bacteria (30 ml/pot), and phosphate-solubilizing fungi (30 ml/pot), with each treatment combination replicated 5 times. The observed parameters were soil pH (H₂O), soil organic carbon, soil P-available, soil P retention, plant height, dry weight of plant canopy, dry weight of plant roots, and plant P uptake. The results of this study indicate that the application of lemongrass leaf silicate and straw silicate are more effective than the application of phosphate-solubilizing organisms in reducing P retention, increasing plant height, dry weight of plant tops, dry weight of roots, and phosphorus uptake. The phosphate-solubilizing bacteria were able to increase the available phosphorus in the soil the most, followed by the treatment with silicate from lemongrass leaves, the control group, phosphate-solubilizing fungi, and silicate from rice straw, however, overall, these effects were not statistically significant