Impact of coastal sediment for reclamation of peatlands in Kubu Raya District, Indonesia

JOKO SUTRISNO, SUNTORO SUNTORO, SAERI SAGIMAN, FEIRA B. ARIEF

Abstract: The primary purpose of this study was to examine the use of coastal sediment as an alternative to peatland reclamation material for maize. Coastal sea sediment is a material composed of partly dissolved precipitated solid particles found along the coastline, and based on some previous researches, the application of coastal sediment can increase the pH and base saturation of peat soil. Thus, to test the accuracy of the coastal sediment, two experiments were conducted in 2014 and 2015. The fi rst step was identifying alternative sources of coastal sediment, as ameliorant, with chemical analysis (pH and texture) and
incubation experiments. Five locations of coastal sediment from Kubu Raya District and one from Kijing were assessed for peat reclamation. Next, fi eld experiments were conducted related to the addition of the best coastal sediment regarding pH and texture on the production of shelled cobs of maize plants in peat soils with different degrees of thickness. This study was conducted
on two types of peat soil thickness (less than 2 m and more than 2 m). The coastal sediment, which was sourced from Kijing beach, was used at three dose levels based on the percentage of weight. All treatments were conducted in triplicate, and the corresponding corn productions were evaluated. The result showed that 10% coastal sediment improves corn production.

Keywords: coastal sediment; corn production; incubation; peat soil

Date published: 2018-06-12