Composts as additives in coconut coir dust culture for growing rockmelon (Cucumis melo l.)

A.B. Wira, I. Mohd Razi and Z. Abd Jamil

Abstract

Coconut coir dust (CD) is a good growth medium in soilless culture for many selected vegetables and fruit. It has a high water holding capacity, excellent drainage, free of weeds and pathogens, high cation exchange capacity (CEC) and electrical conductivity (EC), easier wetting ability and also gives good aeration to root zone. However, there are some problems in using CD such as low pH, high potassium content and salinity. Addition of peat moss to CD in a ratio of 7:3 has proven to be effective in improving crop growth. Instead of peat moss, compost can be used as an additive to CD. An experiment was conducted with the main objective to determine the best medium to be used as an additive in coconut coir dust culture for growing rockmelon var. Waka Natsu 1. Five types of composts were used as treatments which consisted of M 1 (70% CD: 30% rice straw compost), M 2 [70% CD: 30% empty fruit bunches (EFB) compost], M 3 (70% CD: 30% peat moss), M 4 (70% CD: 30% burnt rice husk) and M 5 (100% CD as control). M 2, which consisted of a mixture of CD and EFB compost in a ratio of 7:3, was found to be the best medium for growing rockmelon var. Waka Natsu 1 using fertigation system. Overall, plant grown in this medium produced the best growth performance compared to the control (100% CD). Plants grown in M 2 produced the largest fruit diameter (14.15 cm) with highest fruit fresh weight (1482.9 g) and total soluble solids (15.33%).

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