Effect of organic manure (cow manure) addition and soil moisture variation on the growth of groundnut (Arachis hypogaea) on BRIS Soil.

BRIS soil is a problematically abundance sandy soil especially in the coastal area of Peninsular Malaysia. The poor structure, low water retention and insufficient of nutrients content of BRIS soil can be improved through the addition of organic matter. The best and affordable organic matter for soil amendment is cow manure and it has been known as an improving element in agriculture for the sandy soil texture. In this study, three different ratio of soil media and two levels of soil moisture were used to determine the effect on the growth of Arachis hypogaea. The three different ratio of BRIS soil and cow manure were 1:0, 1:1, and 1:3. The two level of soil moisture were 30% and 80%. Number of leaves, plant height, diameter of stem, and relative growth rate were calculated. The result was subjected to Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and the mean obtained was compared in Tukey’s Test. Throughout the 8 weeks of study, the best treatment that contributes to the most successful plant growth performance was Media 3 (1 BRIS soil: 3 Cow Manure) with interaction of 80% Soil Moisture. Result showed that Media 3 Soil Moisture 80% had the highest significance effect towards the growth of A.hypogaea. For number of leaves, media had the highest significance effect (p=0.000), soil moisture (p=0.017) and interaction of both (p=0.033). For the height of plant, media and soil moisture were significantly higher (p=0.000) and no significance effect for both interaction (p=0.779). For stem diameter, media was highly significant (p=0.000), no significance effect for soil moisture (p=0.517) and interaction of both (p=0.412). These results suggested that crops can be cultivated on BRIS soil after improving the properties of BRIS soil by applying cow manure.