THE EFFECT OF TRICHODERMA ASPERELLUM FROM VARIOUS HOSTS AND APPLICATION METHODS ON THE GROWTH AND PRODUCTION OF EDAMAME SOYBEANS (GLYCINE MAX L.)

Soybean edamame is one of the vegetable soybean commodities that has economic value and development potential in Indonesia. Trichoderma asperellum is a biological agent that, besides potentially suppressing pathogens, can also support plant growth by enhancing nutrient utilisation and stimulating root development. This study aimed to determine the effect of T. asperellum originating from different host plants and application methods on the growth and production of soybean edamame. The research used a factorial Complete Randomised Design with two factors. The first factor consisted of no Trichoderma (P0), Trichoderma from healthy soybean roots (P1), from bamboo roots (P2), from banana roots (P3), and a fungicide (P4). The second factor comprised seed coating (A1) and spraying (A2), with three replications. Growth parameters included plant height and the number of trifoliate leaves, while production parameters included the number and weight of wet pods. The results showed that all isolates used were molecularly identified as T. asperellum. The treatment did not show significant differences in plant height and the number of leaves between 4–10 Weeks After Planting (WAP), although the combination P2A2 exhibited the highest average growth value at the end of the observation. In terms of production, the combination P1A2 produced the highest number of wet pods, amounting to 56.11 pods, and the highest weight of wet pods, at 84.78 g per plant.