PEMANFAATAN BIOCHAR BAMBU DALAM MENINGKATKAN KUALITAS TANAH DAN HASIL TANAMAN JAGUNG (Zea mays L.) DI LAHAN KERING

Biochar is a carbon-rich material that comes from incomplete combustion of agricultural biomass in a container with little or no air. Biochar has the potential to increase the carbon content of the soil, improve soil fertility and restore soil quality has been degraded. This research was conducted in three phases, from June 2015 until May 2016. The first phase of the research is the field observation, performed to evaluate the potential of bamboo biochar and compost on the dry land. Field observation and collection of samples of soil, compost and biochar conducted in Sulahan village, Bangli. The results of this study indicate that biochar and compost has the potential to improve the properties of the soil in the drylands. The second phase of a pot experiment in a greenhouse, using a randomized block design (RBD) with three replications nested test patterns. Factors treatment consists of three fertilizer types namely biochar, compost, and phonska with 3 levels dose and a control for comparison. The composition of the treatment are: (1) control (D0), (2) biochar 5 t ha-1 (BD1), (3) biochar 10 t ha-1 (BD2), (4) biochar 15 t ha-1 (BD3), (5) compost 10 t ha-1 (KD1), (6) compost 20 t ha-1 (KD2), (7) compost 30 t ha-1 (KD3), (8) phonska 150 kg ha-1 ( PD1), (9) phonska 300 kg ha-1 (PD2), and (10) phonska 450 kg ha-1 (PD3). The results of phase II studies showed that biochar, compost and phonska very significant effect on total oven dry weight of the plant, as well as the optimum dose obtained biochar 10.52 t ha-1, optimum dose of compost 20.22 t ha-1, and the optimum dose of phonska 313.37 kg ha-1. The third phase of the research is field scale experiment, which was designed by RBD three replications with factorial 2 factors. The first factor is the dose of fertilizer with biochar dose level 4 (D), namely: D0 = without biochar, D1 = 0.5 x the optimum dose biochar (5.26 t ha-1), D2 = biochar dose optimum (10.52 t ha-1), D3 = 1.5 x the optimum dose biochar 15.78 t ha-1). The second factor is the type of fertilizer (P) with four types, namely: P0 = without fertilizer, P1 = compost, P2 = phonska, and P3 = compost + phonska. The results of the phase III study showed that biochar dosage formulations 10.52 t ha-1 with compost and phonska can increase P-available, K-available, and total soil microbes, improving the distribution of micropores and improving soil quality to be very good with Soil Quality Rating (SQR) value of 18. The formulation of biochar 10.52 t ha-1 with compost and phonska the highest yield seed weight of dry seed moisture content of 14% was 12.84 tons per hectare increased by 38.61% when compared to the interaction without biohar with compost and phonska. The highest yield of 12.84 tonnes of seed weight per ha dry seed provides the highest agronomic value of 119.69% effectiveness and feasibility value of corn crop farming in drylands 1.27. Based on these results it can be concluded that the formulation of biochar bamboo 10.52 t ha-1 with the type of compost and phonska can be used to improve soil quality and yield of maize in dryland. Keywords: Biochar of bamboo, soil quality, dryland, yield of cor