PENGARUH KOMPOSISI MEDIA TANAM DAN ZPT ATONIK TERHADAP PERTUMBUHAN BIBIT KAKAO (Theobroma cacao L.)

[EFFECT OF PLANTING MEDIA COMPOSITION AND ATONIC GCS ON THE GROWTH OF COCOA SEEDS (Theobroma cacao L.)]. Cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) is one of the essential crop commodities which has an excellent opportunity improving community welfare. This study aimed to determine the effect of combination planting media with the atonic growth control substances (GCS) on the growth of cocoa seedlings. The research was conducted in Tanjung Sari area, Medan, North Sumatera from March to June 2019. The research was carried out using randomized block design (RBD) with two factors of planting media and atonic GCS. The first factor was the composition of the growing media in the form of manure, ultisol soil, and sand which consists of 4 combinations, namely control, ratio of 1:1:1, ratio of 1:2:1, and ratio of 1: 3:1. The second factor was 4 levels of atonic GCS, namely without atonic GCS application at a control, 1 cc/L, 2 cc/L water, and 3 cc/L water. The results showed that the combination of planting media consisting of manure, ultisol, and sand with a ratio of 1: 3: 1 showed a significant effect to increased plant height, stem diameter, number of leaves, and leaf area of cocoa seedlings. The atonic GCS of 3 cc/L water significantly increased plant height, stem diameter, number of leaves, and leaf area of cocoa seeds. The interaction between the growing media composition and the concentration of GCS atonic significantly affected the number of leaves. However, it was not significant for plant height, stem diameter, and leaf area of cocoa seeds. The conclusions are that the composition of the planting medium and atonic growth control substances significantly affected the growth of cocoa seedlings. ————————–—————————————————————————————–————————— Keyword: cocoa, planting media, growth control substances (GCS)