Amelioration of Planting Media in Chili Cultivation with Floating System in Lebak Swamp

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of chicken manure compost and agricultural lime on chemical characteristics of planting medium, growth and yield of chili in floating farming system.Three treatments: (1) Control, (2) Agricultural lime, and (3) Chicken manure compost were arranged in a completely randomized design and applied to floating planting media consisting up local vegetation (water mimosa and kiambang).Several soil chemical characteristics: soil pH, contents of organic C, NH4 + , NO3 -, available P, and exchangeable K were observed after a-7 day of incubation, while measurement of plant height and yields of chili were conducted at first harvest (90 days).Results of study showed improvements in soil pH, contents of organic C, NH4 + , NO3 -, available P, and exchangeable K with the application of lime and chicken manure compost to the planting media.Plant height increased from 26.6 cm in the control to 35.8 cm in lime treatment, and to 54.5 cm in chicken manure compost treatment.The highest yield of chili was obtained in the chicken manure treatment.The study results indicate that the use of chicken manure compost is the most effective treatment for enhancing growth and yield in the plant floating farming system in the lebak swamp.