Boosting Antioxidant Activity in Butterfly Pea via Banana Peel-Tithonia Organic Fertilizers

Butterfly pea (Clitoria ternatea) is a promising source of natural antioxidants due to its high anthocyanin, flavonoid, and phenolic content.This study aimed to optimize its productivity and antioxidant activity through the application of liquid organic fertilizer (LOF) from Kepok banana peel and Mexican sunflower green manure, combined with different planting media on Andisol soil.The research used a completely randomized design with two fertilizer types and four planting media, repeated three times, resulting in 72 experimental units.Conducted at Trawas Experimental Farm and the Soil Laboratory of UPN "Veteran" East Java from April to June 2024, results showed that the combination of soil and compost with Mexican sunflower green manure yielded the highest plant biomass (231.09g).Meanwhile, the combination of soil and raw husk with Kepok banana peel LOF significantly increased antioxidant activity by 24.17%.The highest harvest index (0.29) was also observed in the soil-compost combination.Soil and compost improved water retention and nutrient availability, while raw husk may have triggered stress responses and activated secondary metabolite production.These findings suggest that appropriate organic fertilizer and planting media combinations can enhance both biomass and antioxidant content of butterfly pea flowers.