The response of taro (Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott var. antiquorum) to various amount and frequency of water provision

Abstract

Suminarti NE. 2015. The response of taro (Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott var. antiquorum) to various amount and frequency of water provision. Pros Sem Nas Masy Biodiv Indon 1: 763-766. The effort to increase the productivity local food sources particularly tuber of Taro needs to be envisaged with great importance. As it can be consumed being one of rich carbohydrate sources. Besides, the effect of physical factors, especially the right amount and frequency of irrigated water, during the cultivation of taro needs to be explored. This research aimed to find out the appropriate amount of water and irrigation frequency for taro cultivation. The research has been conducted from October 2013 to April 2014 at the College of Agricultural Extension in Bedali Lawang, Malang. This research used split plot design, and the three different amount of water was utilized in the main plots, such as (i) 500 mm/season, (ii) 1000 mm/season, (iii) 1500 mm/season. The frequency of irrigation was divided into three ways namely (i) once a day, (ii) twice a day, and (iii) thrice a day. Data was collected on the basis of considering important parameters such as: (i) growth components: leaves area, total dry weight, and the amount of tuber productivity, (ii) Plant’s growth analysis: relative growth rate, (iii) Yield components: the amount of tuber and total fresh weight per plant. F-test at 5% level of significance was used to test the effect of treatment. The result showed that the right amount of water and frequency of irrigation have a significant effect on the cultivation of Taro. The best growth and yield were found providing 1500 mm/season amount of water and irrigation once at daily basis.