Effect of soil compaction on the growth of Coriandrum sativum (Cilantro) in soils from UMK-TRaCe, Pulau Banding, Perak

This study investigated the effect of varying soil compaction levels on the growth of Coriandrum sativum (cilantro) using soil samples collected from UMKTRaCe,Pulau Banding, Perak. The first objectives were to evaluate the influence ofdifferent compaction levels of fresh soil (control), low compaction, and high compactionon shoot length, root length, leaf number, and second objective determine the strength ofassociation between compaction and growth parameters. A 30 day rhizotron experiment was conducted under controlled conditions with six replicates for each treatment.Results showed that fresh soil yielded the highest growth performance across allparameters, including shoot length (5.01 ± 0.49 cm), root length (5.22 ± 0.53 cm),number of leaves (3.66 ± 0.33), and harvest weight (0.375 ± 0.0307 g). Highcompaction significantly suppressed growth, with root length and harvest weightexhibiting a strong negative correlation to compaction (ρ = -1.000, p < 0.01). Lowcompaction produced intermediate results, confirming that even slight compaction canreduce growth performance. These findings emphasize the importance of maintaining low soil bulk density to optimize cilantro growth, particularly in tropical rainforest soilssusceptible to compaction. The study provides valuable insights for sustainable soilmanagement and crop cultivation in sensitive ecosystems like Pulau Banding.