OPTIMIZATION OF STEVIA SEEDLING GROWTH (Stevia rebaudiana) WITH THE APPLICATION OF CHITOSAN AND HUMIC ACID

Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana is a natural sweetener plant that can potentially be cultivated in Indonesia. However, the seedlings often experience suboptimal growth. This research aims to study the effect of chitosan and humic acid application at various doses on the growth of stevia seedlings. The research was conducted from June to August 2024 at the Standard Testing Center for Sweetener and Fiber Crop Instruments Karangploso, Malang, East Java. The study used a non-factorial Randomized Group Design (RAK) with 6 treatment levels and repeated 4 times for each treatment. The treatments tested consisted of K0H0 (0 ml chitosan and 0 ml humic acid), K0H1 (0 ml chitosan and 6 ml humic acid), K0H2 (0 ml chitosan and 12 ml humic acid), K1H0 (10 ml chitosan and 0 ml humic acid), K1H1 (10 ml chitosan and 6 ml humic acid) and K1H2 (10 ml chitosan and 12 ml humic acid). The results showed that the best treatment was chitosan 10 ml without humic acid (K1H0) which gave an effect on increasing plant height, root length and also the number of leaves of stevia seedlings.