Soil is one of the important media in both plantations and agriculture. Its fertility needs to be maintained so that plants can produce good and healthy harvests. After describing the types of soil that have spread across Indonesia, this section will describe easy ways to fertilize the soil biologically.
1. Add Organic Fertilizer
This step is taken as an effort to improve the overall quality of the soil and activate microorganisms that can decompose organic matter in the soil. The plants that can be used as organic matter are the rattlepods trees that grow wild.
Rattlepods are often discarded by farmers because they are considered nuisance plants or weeds. In fact, rattlepod plants have nodules that contain endophilic bacteria that can bind nitrogen (N2) in the air. This nitrogen can fertilize the soil so that it can reduce the use of artificial fertilizers. In its utilization, rattlepods can be planted on soil for main crops and also to the soil other than for main crops.
2. Complete with Animal Material
Animal waste can also be used as organic fertilizer to help fertilize the soil. Animal waste material that is commonly used is shellfish waste in the form of shells. As an organic fertilizer, shellfish shells can help the development of microorganisms and animals that are useful for plants, such as earthworms. Animal materials such as blood, bones, and animal hair also have a fairly good nitrogen content that can be used as organic fertilizer.
3. Use Fiber and Sawdust
Sawdust can be an efficient choice to increase nitrogen content in the soil because they have a sufficient nitrogen content of around 3 percent.
4. Use Manure
Manure is a fertilizer that comes from livestock and poultry waste. Manure is said to be rich in nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Therefore, it is very suitable for increasing soil fertility.
5. Maximize Compost Fertilizer
Compost is a fertilizer that comes from green materials such as leaves and weeds. It is said to be very good for increasing soil fertility because it contains the right C/N ratio and is clean from pathogenic bacteria.