Growth Performance and Yield of Brassica rapa var. chinensis With Takakura and Conventional Compost

Vincent Wei Shuen, Kiew (2024) Growth Performance and Yield of Brassica rapa var. chinensis With Takakura and Conventional Compost. Masters thesis, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak.

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Abstract

Composted organic waste from food waste and plants is beneficial to enhance crop productivity and agricultural sustainability. Compost added to soil as a soil amendment is rich in a wide range of plant-available nutrients that could significantly enhance the plant growth and yield but there is no specification of different composting methods to produce compost as a soil amendment for crops. Thus, this study aims to evaluate the growth performance and yield of Brassica rapa var. chinensis (B. rapa) cultivated or growing in the medium (topsoil) incorporated with compost varied in composting methods. Additionally, the study also investigates the growth response of B. rapa when chemical fertilizer is added during cultivation from third week until harvest. Six treatments were applied, namely cultivation of B. rapa with topsoil only (C), topsoil with fertilizer (CF), Takakura compost amendment only (T), Takakura compost amendment with fertilizer (TF), conventional compost amendment only (M) and conventional compost amendment with fertilizer (MF). The results showed that after six (6) weeks of cultivation, the plant height averaged 20 cm with 18 leaves produced across compost amendment treatments, while the treatments with fertilizer with plant height averaged 25 cm with 21 leaves produced. The other growth parameters, namely fresh to dry weight ratio, root to shoot ratio, and light interception percentage, showed no significant differences at p ≤ 0.05 among all the compost amendment treatments (T, M, TF, and MF) while different with C and CF treatment. The leaf area and total yield of B. rapa show significant differences among compost amendment treatments, while the treatment with chemical fertilizer achieved the highest yield of 1173.4 cm2 in leaf area and 44.3 t/ha of total yield. From this study, applying different types of compost, either Takakura or conventional composting, positively affects the growth performance of B. rapa plants. Moreover, combining fertilizer and compost amendment during cultivation will promote the increment in B. rapa leaf area and yield.

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