Observation results
Chemical properties of alluvial soil
The soil used for research material is Alluvial soil.
Table 1, the Alluvial soil used as a planting medium has a pH that is still in the acid category, CEC is high, BS is low and the C and N content is medium. Base saturation is closely related to soil pH, where soil with a low pH has low base saturation and conversely. Soil with a high pH also has a high base saturation (
Kabała and Łabaz, 2018). The land in the research location can still produce high yields of large chilies if Biochike+soil amendment is used.
Pore of biochike+
Biochike+ pores with the composition of tank’s biochar: chicken manure biochar (50: 50) can be seen in Fig 1.
The appearance of the pores on the surface of Biochike+ pyrolyzed at a temperature of 500°C for 4 hours, the structure is solid and regular, with large macro and micro pore sizes. The arrangement and shape of large and neatly arranged pores will increase the role of biochar as an ameliorant in the soil. The formation of intact pores makes biochar better in terms of biochar density, particle density and aeration. The water retention ability of biochar is influenced by the high surface area, volume and pore size of biochar (
Indrawati and Alhaddad, 2023)
Chemical properties of alluvial soil after incubation
Table 2, after incubation for 4 weeks, the average pH was neutral, Organic C was very high, total N was moderate, C/N was high, available P was high and total K was low.
Jamila and Safridar, (2012) also stated that the application of biochar to the soil can increase pH by up to 1 pH unit.
Yulies et al., (2022) stated that biochar made from tankos raw materials can be used as an ameliorant for long-term soil quality recovery and improvement. The chemical properties of tanks biochar have a neutral pH, besides that it also has Ca, Mg content due to the presence of a little ash from the carbonation process. The increase in pH is only temporary. The incubation treatment between soil and biochar, for 4 weeks found that the longer the incubation period, the more perfect the weathering process and the higher the CEC and BS values. Likewise, the content of available P in the soil and exchangeable K increased with increasing doses of biochar.
N Uptake(mg)
Analysis of variance showed that giving Biochike+had a significant effect on N nutrient uptake and was followed by the DMRT test (Table 3).
Treatment B4 was significantly different from B0 but not significantly different from other treatments, but there was an increase in the value of each treatment. The lowest average N absorption value was found in B0 (0.05) while the highest was in B4 (0.434). Application of Biochike+ organic fertilizer can increase N absorption because chicken manure is rich in N nutrients. This is in accordance with the opinion of
Rosmarkam and Yuwono (2002) that chicken manure fertilizer in the mineralization process will release complete plant nutrients such as N, P and K. The more doses of chicken manure biochar are given, the more the N absorption value will increase in plants.
The provision of organic materials in the form of biochar from Biochike+ has an effect on increasing soil organic C and will directly increase the total N in the soil, the organic C content has an effect on the availability of total N in the soil, because N can be available due to the decomposition that occurs in organic materials which then undergo decomposition which produces amino acids and undergoes hydrolysis into ammonium (NH
4+) and nitrate (NO
32-). The addition of organic materials means an increase in the level of total N in the soil which also directly increases N absorption in plants. Utilization of Biochike+ can leave a residual effect, is very helpful in providing C-Organic for a long time, can increase the fertility of Alluvial soil and can directly affect the growth and yield of eggplant plants (
Olivia, 2024).
P uptake (mg)
Analysis of variance showed that the application of Biochike+had a real effect on P nutrient uptake followed by the DMRT Test.
Table 4 shows that B4 provides the highest P uptake value. This can be caused by the increased availability of available P in the soil sourced from chicken manure and the addition of NPK fertilizer. One of the benefits of giving biochar is that it can reduce leaching because there are pores and functional groups on the surface, so the more biochar is given, the more available these nutrients are to plants.
(Indrawati et al., 2017).
According to
(Shen et al., 2011) that plant P uptake is largely determined by root contact with P nutrients, the P concentration in the soil solution and the plant’s ability to absorb P elements in the soil.(
Guppy et al., 2005), decomposition of organic matter can increase the availability of phosphate through its decomposition to form humic P which is easily taken up by plants.
K uptake (mg)
Analysis of variance showed that the application of Biochike+had a significant effect on K nutrient uptake and then the DMRT test.
Table 5 Shows that concentration of available K in the soil increased after being given Biochike+at 40 t.ha
-1, by 0,056 mg. Meanwhile, the concentration of K av in the tank biochar of 3.65 cmol(+)kg
-1 was much greater than the concentration of K av in the soil
(Yulies et al., 2022). This shows that the provision of biochar can increase K av based on the increase in the dose of biochar added
(Indrawati et al., 2017). B4 was significantly different from B0, B1, B2, but not significantly different from B3. B4 provided the highest K absorption value, but B3 could be said to be optimal in providing K absorption considering that a dose of 30t/ha was sufficient for the K needs of large chili plants.
Weight of large chilies (g)
Analysis of variance showed that giving Biochike+had a significant effect on the weight of large chilies and then the DMRT test.
The average production of large chilies per treatment from Table 6 can be seen where B0 106.5 g, B1 325.6 g, B2 435.8 g, B3 and B4 were 500.9 g and 591.6 g per treatment. Production in harvest 1 of the B4 totaled 1,529.6 g. The higher the dose of Biochike+ given, the greater the production.
According to Fitriyani (2023), the increase in the weight of red chili peppers is due to chicken manure biochar 1. being rich in nutrients such as nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K), which are essential for plant growth and development. 2. increasing the activity of soil microbes that help in the digestion of organic matter into nutrients available to plants. 3. can increase the water retention capacity of the soil, which helps plants cope with drought and maintain optimal growth. 4. improving soil structure and organic matter content, which contributes to better growth and higher yields.
Financial analysis
Financial analysis of biochike + fertilizer manufacturing
The manufacture of Biochike+fertilizer in the form of granules consists of components that will be analyzed financially, consisting of fixed costs and variable costs. The fixed cost of making Biochike fertilizer/month is Rs. 419,618/ month or Rs. 5,035,416/year. The fixed costs incurred come from the depreciation cost of equipment used in the manufacture of Biochike+, namely Kontiki furnaces, sieving machines, shovels, mortar crushers and granular mixing machines.Variable costs include the cost of the main raw materials of tank’s, chicken manure, sacks, labels, starch, labor. Total variable costs/month incurred amounted to IDR 216,144,000/year.
The total cost of making Biochike+/month is IDR 18,431,168 or IDR 221,174,016/year.
Cost of Goods Manufactured (CGM) is:
Selling price = CGM+(mark-up+CGM)
Therefore: CGM = IDR 18.431.168/756 kg = IDR 24.379/kg
Selling Price = IDR 24.379 /kg + (10%*IDR 24.379/kg)
= IDR 26.000/kg
Cost of goods manufactured
Biochike fertilizer manufacturing business revenue per month is IDR 20,273,652 or IDR 243,283,824/year. The income obtained from making Biochike+ fertilizer per year is IDR 22,109,808.
Financial analysis of large chili farms after using biochike+
The costs incurred in large chili farms are divided into 2 types of costs, namely fixed costs and non-fixed costs. Fixed costs are costs that are always the same even though the amount of production changes. Fixed costs incurred in this study include the depreciation value of tools which is IDR 5,100,579.67/ha. The equipment used consists of hoes and sprayers. Variable costs are all costs incurred by farmers in the production process that affect production results whose costs change. Variable costs consist of fertilizer, seed, pesticide and labor costs. Seed costs amounted to IDR 1,500,000/ha. The NPK fertilizer at IDR 1,200,000/ha and Biochike+ fertilizer at IDR 2,600,000/ha. The total cost of fertilizer is IDR 3,800,000/ha. Pesticide costs are IDR 300,000/ha and labor costs are IDR 6,650,000/ha (Table 7).
Red chili production is produced at 10 tons/ha with a selling price of IDR 80,000/kg. So the amount of income from red chili farming is IDR 80,000,000/ha. The amount of income obtained is shown in the following Table 8.
From the results of financial calculations, it shows that red chili farming using biochike+fertilizer is feasible because the amount of income received is greater than the production costs incurred. The profit obtained by large chili farming with biochike+ fertilizer is IDR 62,649,420.3/ha/year.
Alluvial soil has a low level of soil fertility, therefore Biochike+ can be used as an alternative to increase soil fertility. Biochike+ is made from biochar tank’s and chicken manure biochar with a ratio of 50:50 has chemical properties of pH 9.44, C/N Ratio 29.63%, total N 0.78%, organic C 23.20%, P 3.99% and K 1.70%. Biochike+ can increase pH even if only for a moment, because of its high pH (pH> 7). The K content is high because K is still there when heated to 350°C.
Increasing the provision of Biochike+will increase the absorption of N, P, K and the weight of large chili fruit in this study, this may be due to the availability of N, P, K in the soil also increasing compared to the soil before treatment. In the case of biochar application, there is a change in soil pH from acidic to neutral, resulting in three benefits: reducing the capacity of phosphate absorption by soil minerals, binding Al and Fe metals (Al-P and Fe-P) and reducing nutrient retention on the biochar surface
(Indrawati et al., 2017).
Financial analysis shows that Biochike+fertilizer production provides many benefits, not only increasing soil fertility but also from a financial aspect providing profitable economic value. The profit obtained by large chili farmers with Biochike+fertilizer is IDR 62,649,420.3 per harvest.
