GROWTH TRAITS OF BASIL (Ocimum sanctum L.) UNDER APPLICATION OF LIQUID ORGANIC FERTILIZER AND NITROGEN FERTILIZER

Liquid organic fertilizer (LOF) is one solution in improving soil fertility and plant growth, while nitrogen fertilizer can overcome the lack of N elements in the soil which is often a limiting factor, especially for plant vegetative growth such as basil plant. This study aimed to determine the growth traits of basil plants due to the application of liquid organic fertilizer and various levels of N fertilizer. The experimental was arranged using a Factorial Randomized Block Design, which consisted of two factors of treatment, i.e. LOF application and N fertilizer levels, with three replications. The LOF application treatment consisted of without LOF and with LOF, while the N fertilizer levels treatment consisted of 0 kg ha-1, 75 kg ha-1, 150 kg ha-1, and 225 kg ha-1. The least significance difference (LSD) test at probability level of 5% showed that the basil plants treated with LOF exhibit siginificantly different and better growth traits than without LOF. LOF positively increased basil plant height by 25.61%, shoot fresh weight by 12.39% and shoot dry weight by 13.95% compared to plant without LOF. The basil plants were given N fertilizer with 150 kg ha-1 showed the best growth traits than the other levels, especially for the shoot fresh weight increased by 30.53% compared to without N fertilizer (N0) and higher than the treatment of N1 (6.85%) and N3 (20.56%). Although there was no significant interaction between the application of organic liquid fertilizer and N fertilizer, nevertheless in order for basil plants to grow optimally, it is recommended to give liquid organic fertilizer and N fertilizer as much as 150 kg ha-1 in basil planting activities.