Research Article
Effect of Fertilizer Application and Plant Density on Physiological Aspect and Yield of Taro (Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott var. Antiquorum)
Department of Agriculture, Brawijaya University, Malang, East Java, Indonesia
Ariffin
Department of Agriculture, Brawijaya University, Malang, East Java, Indonesia
B. Guritno
Centre for Root and Tuber Crops Studies, Brawijaya University, Malang, East Java, Indonesia
M.L. Rayes
Department of Soil, Brawijaya University, Malang, East Java, Indonesia
Yusuf Hassan-Maiwa Reply
This paper failed to categorically and explicitly state the reason for the NK fertilizer trial, in terms of what it aimed to achieve which the other NPK trial failed to achieve.
It also failed to reveal the P status of the soil prior to the study. How can you conduct a soil analysis without P; CEC values?
The methodology was faulty in applying K fertilizer in split form. K is not a mobile nutrient in particularly acidic medium, and is applied full dose during land preparation or planting, but never in split form. There is the tendency it was not available to the plant both in time and space, hence the negative result obtained, because it was fixed.
The abstract should have reported the second fertilizer level as the optimum, since it was the treatment level used, and not the value they reported, which is not significantly different from the 2nd treatment level in the study. They would however report that other value found, in the text.
Finally, the year, season and perhaps specific dates for the study should have been given.