Pengaruh Pemangkasan Cabang dan Jarak Tanam Terhadap Pertumbuhan dan Produksi Tanaman Semangka (Citrullus vulgaris Schard)

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh pemangkasan cabang dan jarak tanam terhadap pertumbuhan dan hasil produksi tanaman semangka (Citrullus vulgaris Schard), yang dilaksanakan di Kebun Percobaan Fakultas Pertanian Universitas Medan Area, yang berlokasi di Jalan Kolam No.1 Medan Estate, Kecamatan Percut Sei Tuan, dengan ketinggian 12 meter di atas permukaan laut (dpl), topografi datar dan jenis tanah alluvial. Penelitian dilaksanakan mulai September sampai November 2018. Rancangan yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah Rancangan Acak Kelompok (RAK) Faktorial dengan dua faktor perlakuan, yaitu : 1) Faktor perlakuan berbagai metode pemangkasan (P) yang terdiri dari 4 taraf, yakni : P0 = Tidak dilakukan pemangkasan; P1= Pemangkasan cabang primer; P2 = Pemangkasan cabang primer dan 1-5 cabang sekunder pada semua cabang primer; P3 = Pemangkasan cabang primer dan 1-10 cabang sekunder pada semua cabang primer, dan 2) Faktor perlakuan berbagai metode jarak tanam (J) yang terdiri dari 4 taraf, yakni : J0 = 50 cm x 250 cm (7 tanaman/ plot); J1 = 75 cm x 250 cm (6 tanaman/ plot); J2 = 100 cm x 250 cm (4 tanaman/ plot); J3 = 125 cm x 250 cm (4 tanaman/ plot dan dilaksanakan dengan ulangan sebanyak 2 ulangan. Parameter yang diamati dalam penelitian ini adalah panjang tanaman, umur berbunga, jumlah cabang sekunder, jumlah buah per sampel, bobot buah per tanaman sampel, diameter buah per tanaman sampel dan bobot buah per plot. Adapun hasil yang diperoleh dari penelitian ini, yakni : 1) Pemangkasan tanaman semangka berpengaruh sangat nyata terhadap panjang tanaman, umur berbunga, jumlah cabang sekunder, jumlah buah per tanaman sampel, bobot buah per tanaman sampel, diameter buah per tanaman sampel dan bobot buah per plot; 2) Jarak tanam semangka berpengaruh sangat nyata terhadap umur berbunga, jumlah buah per tanaman sampel, bobot buah per tanaman sampel, diameter buah per tanaman sampel dan bobot buah per plot, tetapi berpengaruh tidak nyata terhadap panjang tanaman dan jumlah cabang sekunder; dan 3) Interaksi antara kedua faktor perlakuan berpengaruh tidak nyata terhadap pertumbuhan dan produksi tanaman semangka.Essay. Under the guidance of Syahbudin Hasibuan, as the Chairperson of the Guidance and Rizal Azis, as the Advisory Member. This study aimed to determine the effect of branch pruning and spacing on the growth and production of watermelon plants (Citrullus vulgaris Schard), which was carried out in the Experimental Garden of the Faculty of Agriculture, Medan Area, located on Jalan Kolam No.1 Medan Estate, Percut Sei Tuan District, with a height of 12 meters above sea level (asl), flat topography and alluvial soil types. The study was conducted from September to November 2018. The design used in this study is Factorial Randomized Block Design (RBD) with two treatment factors, namely: 1) Factors of various treatment methods of pruning (P) consisting of 4 levels, namely: P0 = No pruning; P1 = Pruning of primary branches; P2 = Pruning of primary branches and 1-5 secondary branches in all primary branches; P3 = Pruning of primary branches and 1-10 secondary branches in all primary branches, and 2) Treatment factors for various planting distance methods (J) consisting of 4 levels, namely: J0 = 50 cm x 250 cm (7 plants / plot); J1 = 75 cm x 250 cm (6 plants / plot); J2 = 100 cm x 250 cm (4 plants / plot); J3 = 125 cm x 250 cm (4 plants / plot and carried out with replications of 2 replications. The parameters observed in this study were plant length, flowering age, number of secondary branches, number of fruits per sample, fruit weight per plant sample, fruit diameter per plant sample and fruit weight per plot. The results obtained from this study are: 1) Pruning of watermelon plants has a very significant effect on plant length, flowering age, number of secondary branches, number of fruits per plant sample, fruit weight per plant sample, fruit diameter per plant sample and fruit weight per plot; 2) Watermelon spacing has a very significant effect on flowering age, number of fruits per plant sample, fruit weight per plant sample, fruit diameter per plant sample and fruit weight per plot, but it has no significant effect on plant length and number of secondary branches; and 3) The interaction between the two treatment factors has no significant effect on the growth and production of watermelon plants