Root Zone Cooling in the Vegetative Stage of Shallot (Allium ascalonicum L.) using Hydroponics Wick System with Time and Temperature Treatments Gunomo Djoyowasito, Annisa Noor Sasmita, Wiryaningtyas Setya Winahyu, Joko Prasetyo
Department of Biosystem and Agricultural Engineering, Brawijaya University, Jl. Veteran, Kota Malang, Jawa Timur, Indonesia
Abstract
Hydroponics is currently an alternative as an effort to overcome the problem of limited land. Hydroponics can be done with various techniques, one of which is by using a wick system using rockwool as the planting medium. To provide optimal results in the use of hydroponic wick systems, namely by using a root zone cooling system. Root zone cooling is a method of modifying the microclimate through limited cooling of the plant environment in the root or crown area of plants that can stimulate endogenous gibbrellins cell division and increase the activity of auxin hormones in plants, one of which is in shallots. The object of this research is to design a hydroponic wick system and compare the effect of temperature variations and cooling duration on the shallot (Allium ascalonicum L.) vegetative period (35 days after planting). This research uses simple Peltier TEC-12706 cooling, XH-W109 controller, and temperature sensor. The cultivation technique used in the study used three cooling temperatures (15, 20, and 25OC) and two cooling exposure times (4 and 8 hours). The cooling exposure was carried out from 08.00 AM to 04.00 PM Western Indonesian Time (WIB). The results of research conducted for 35 days showed that the highest plant height was obtained at 25OC for 8 hours with an average of 20.8 cm. For the number of leaves, the highest data was obtained in the 20OC treatment for 8 hours with an average of 15 leaves. As for the greenness index, the highest data was obtained at 25OC for 8 hours with an average of 26.8.
Keywords: Hydroponic,, Wick System, Root Zone Cooling, Shallot
