EFFECT OF NITROGEN AND PHOSPHORUS CONCENTRATION TOWARD Aglaonema var pink beauty QUALITY

• Main Author: Widiatningrum, Talitha
• Format: Theses
• Language: Indonesia
• Subjects: Ilmu hayati ; Biologi
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/36010
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

Aglaonema is known as an ornamental tropical plant. The performance of Aglaonema is determined by red and green colour, rosette leaves growth with tall stem. There are only few reports concerning the effect of nutrient concentration on Aglaonema performance. Therefore, the objective of this research was to study the effect of nitrogen and phosphorus concentration on Aglaonema quality. Prior to the study, the leaves anthocyanin content was tested. The result of this test indicated that Aglaonema leaves contained anthocyanin. To investigate the effects of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) on performance of Aglaonema, several concentrations of N/P combinations were tested onto Aglaonema which were cultivated in Hoagland nutrient media. The tested concentrations were N0P0 (0 mM nitrogen and 0 mM phosphorus), N0P3 (0 mM nitrogen and 3 mM phosphorus), N0P6 (0 mM nitrogen and 6 mM phosphorus), N0P9 (0 mM nitrogen and 9 mM phosphorus), N3P0 (3 mM nitrogen and 0 mM fosfor), N3P3 (3 mM nitrogen and 3 mM phosphorus), N3P6 (3 mM nitrogen and 6 mM phosphorus), N3P9 (3 mM nitrogen and 9 mM phosphorus), N6P0 (6 mM nitrogen and 0 mM phosphorus), N6P3 (6 mM nitrogen and 3 mM phosphorus), N6P6 (6 mM nitrogen and 6 mM phosphorus), N6P9 (6 mM nitrogen and 9 mM phosphorus), N9P0 (9 mM nitrogen and 0 mM phosphorus), N9P3 (9 mM nitrogen and 3 mM phosphorus), N9P6 (9 mM nitrogen and 6 mM phosphorus), N9P9 (9 mM nitrogen and 9 mM phosphorus). After 5 weeks cultivation, plant quality was scored which included leaves chlorophyll and anthocyanin contents, and plant growth. Scoring was conducted based on “Panduan Karakterisasi Aglaonema” which is published by “Balai Penelitian Tanaman Hias”. Chlorophyll content was analyzed using spectrophotometer according Porra method. Anthoyanin content was analyzed using spectrophotometer which referrred to Sims and Gamon method. The plant growth parameters measured, including leaves size and number, stem height and diameter and plant relative growth rate. The data were analyzed by two factorial Complex Randomized Design anova followed by least significance difference with 95 % significance level. These data indicated a significantly difference performance on Aglaonema treated either with single nitrogen or phosphorus. However, there was no significant effect with a combination of nitrogen and phosphorus treatment. The results showed that the increased of plant growth and leaves chlorophyll content positively related to the increase of nitrogen or phosphorus concentrations, but it was not related to the leaves anthocyanin content. The growth and pigments content determined the plant quality. The highest quality of the Aglaonema was obtained by the treatment of 3 mM nitrogen and/or 9 mM phosphorus, in this treatment, the plants have longer petiole and lamina, wider red area of leaves and more various in colour distribution. These findings indicate that single nitrogen or phosphorus concentration determine the plant growth and leaves colour as the components which are scored for Aglaonema quality.