Formula Pupuk Berimbang Tanaman Lada di Lampung - Bambang Eka Tjahjana; Usman Daras; Nana Heryana (Jurnal Tanaman Industri dan Penyegar, 2012)
Rendahnya produktivitas lada di Lampung disebabkan antara lain belum dilakukannya budidaya yang optimal terutama dalam penggunaan pupuk. Rekomendasi pemupukan yang bersifat umum telah tersedia, tetapi banyak pekebun lada yang tidak mengikuti rekomendasi pemupukan yang sudah ada. Untuk mendapatkan dosis pemupukan yang optimal untuk tanaman lada diperlukan identifikasi karakter wilayah pengembangan. Penelitian dilaksanakan di Kebun Percobaan Cahaya Negeri, Lampung, yang bertujuan mendapatkan formula pupuk NPK berimbang untuk menghasilkan data pertumbuhan dan produksi tanaman lada secara optimal. Rancangan percobaan yang digunakan adalah petak terpisah (split plot design), dengan petak utama adalah formula pupuk NPK, yaitu 1)15:15:15, 2) 12:12:17, dan 3) 12:8:20; sedangkan sebagai anak petak adalah takaran pupuk, yaitu  1) 1.000, 2) 1.300, dan 3) 1.600 g/pohon/thn, serta diulang 3 kali. Pengamatan dilakukan terhadap jumlah cabang (sulur), jumlah daun/cabang, jumlah buku/sulur, tinggi tanaman, tinggi tajuk, jumlah cabang sekunder, diameter tajuk, panjang buku, panjang dan lebar daun, jumlah malai/cabang, berat buah/pohon, berat butir/pohon, panjang malai, jumlah buah jadi/malai dan berat buah 1000 butir, serta status hara tanah dan jaringan tanaman. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa tidak terdapat interaksi yang nyata antara formula dengan dosis pupuk pada pertumbuhan vegetatif tanaman lada. Indeks pertumbuhan tanaman lada tertinggi 168,13 terjadi pada formula NPK 12:12:17 pada dosis pupuk 1.600 g/pohon/th. Produksi buah per pohon (3.707,50 g) dan berat kering butir per pohon (1.046,75 g) tertinggi pada formula NPK 12:12:17 dengan dosis 1.600 g/pohon/th.  Balanced Fertilizer Formula for Black Pepper Cultivation in LampungABSTRACT Improper cultural practices applied by farmers in black pepper cultivation are believed to be the main constraint resulting low in its productivity. Fertilizer use is often to be major factor contributing to low yield as the crop are mostly grown in infertile soils. Though there is available general recommendation of fertilizer for the crops, but many farmers might not adopt the technology due to various reasons. When the price of black pepper is low, the existing prices of fertilizers are too expensive for farmers, so that they do not use fertilizers adequately for the crops or few if any. To obtain an optimal dose of fertilizer use, it is then needed identification of characters areas on which the crop is grown. A research was conducted in Cahaya Negeri Research Station, Lampung. The research aimed to obtain balanced NPK fertilizer formula giving optimal growth and yield of black pepper. A split plot design with three replications was used. The main plot was formula fertilizers (F): 1) NPK (15:15:15), 2) NPK (12:12:17), and 3) NPK (12:8:20); and the subplot was the dose of fertilizer (D): 1) 1.000 g/tree/yr, 2) 1.300 g tree/yr, and 3) 1.600 g/tree/yr. Parameters observed were the number of branches, the number of leaves/branches, the number of internode/vine, plant height, canopy height, the number of secondary branches, canopy diameter, the length of internode, leaf length, leaf width, the number of spike/branches, fruit weight/tree, grain weight/plant, spike length, fruit set/spike and 1.000 grain weight of pepper berry, and nutrient status of soil and plant tissue. The results show that there was no significant interaction noted between the formula and dose of fertilizers on the vegetative growth of black pepper. The highest growth index (168.130) was obtained on plants treated with added NPK 12:12:17 of 1.600 g/tree/year. The highest of yield and dry weight of pepper berry, 3.707.50 and 1.046.75 g/tree/yr respectively, were found on those ones treated with 1.600 g NPK 12:12:17/tree/year.