The Influence of AB Mix Concentration and Types of Wicks on Brix Value in Cherry Tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum var. cerasiforme) by Hydroponic Wick System

Hydroponic technologies offer an alternative way to cultivate cherry tomatoes in times when a downfall is seen in productive agricultural land. This research aims to know the correlation between the Brix value of cherry tomatoes and AB mix concentration by a hydroponic wick system. The research method used was an experimental method using a factorial Randomised Block Design. The treatments consisted of K1 = 1900 ppm, K2 = 2700 ppm, K3 = 3500 ppm, S1 = felt, S2 = wool yarn, S3 = stove wick, S4 = cotton rope. Each treatment was repeated thrice. The result showed that the concentration of AB mix solution at 3500 ppm (K3) gave a better result than other concentrations, with an average percentage of Brix valued at 8.71%. At the same time, using felt (S1) as a wick showed the best result with the average percentage of Brix valued at 8.02%. The correlation analysis of AB mix concentration and Brix value resulted in a coefficient of 0.61 which showed a strong correlation between the two variables. This indicates that different levels of concentration of AB mix solution can influence the Brix value of cherry tomatoes. Keywords: hydroponic cherry tomatoes, ab mix concentration, wick system correlation