The study of controlled release propagating substrate (CRPS) and NPK-Organo-Zeolite on the growth of Clinacanthus Nutans

Abstract

The study was carried out to investigate the performance of Controlled Release Propagating Substrate (CRPS®) and NPK-Organo-Zeolite® for the growth of Clinacanthus nutans (Belalai Gajah). Natural zeolite (clinoptilolite) was modified with cationic surfactant hexadecyltrimethylammonium (HDTMA) for nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) elements adsorption producing NPK-Organo- Zeolite®. Then, the NPK-Organo-Zeolite® was characterized with X-ray diffraction technique (XRD) and Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Column leaching test was performed to study the release behavior of ammonium (NH4 +), phosphate (PO4 3-) and potassium (K+) from NPK-Organo-Zeolite® in 15 days. NPKOrgano- Zeolite® released the nutrients slower than commercial fertilizer. CRPS® was used for sowing the C.nutans and then the NPK-Organo-Zeolite® was applied for the growth of the plant. The growth of C.nutans was investigated after 75 days. The optimization study of the plant growth was also performed in term of the optimized weight of NPK-Organo-Zeolite®. The results showed that the growth of C. nutans applied with CRPS® and NPK-Organo-Zeolite® produced better results as compared to propagating substrate only and the application of commercial fertilizer in terms of plant height, number of leaf, fresh weight and dry weight. It can be concluded that CRPS® and NPK-Organo-Zeolite® possessed slow release behavior as they can remain longer in the soil and enhanced the plant growth.