Early Maize Growth In Rhizoboxes Under Ageratum Conyzoides Leaf Extract And Chicken Manure

Maize requires adequate nutrients during vegetative growth, and organic fertilizers can serve as an alternative nutrient source to inorganic fertilizers. Babadotan (Ageratum conyzoides L.) leaves contain nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium and may therefore be used as a aqueous leaf extract. This study evaluated the effect of babadotan leaf extract and chicken manure on the vegetative growth of maize (Zea mays L.) grown in rhizoboxes. The experiment was conducted from March to April 2018 in a screen house at the Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Borneo Tarakan, using a randomized block design with six treatments and four replications: control (P0), 15 mL babadotan leaf extract (P1), 30 mL babadotan leaf extract (P2), chicken manure 4 g (P3), 15 mL babadotan leaf extract + chicken manure 4 g (P4), and 30 mL babadotan leaf extract + chicken manure 4 g (P5). Eleven shoot and root parameters were observed at four weeks after planting and analyzed by ANOVA followed by Duncan’s test at the 5% level. The treatments significantly affected the number of leaves, shoot fresh weight, and shoot dry weight, whereas no statistically significant differences were detected for plant height or the root parameters. P5 gave the highest means for the three significant parameters (6.75 leaves, 6.37 g, and 0.55 g), which were comparable to P4 and significantly higher than the control. Within the conditions of this study, the combined application of babadotan leaf extract and chicken manure mainly promoted shoot growth of maize, while no statistically significant root response was detected.