Effect of cover crops on the nutrient content of leaves and flour of four cassava varieties in ultisol soil Bayu Suwitono (a*) Himawan Bayu Aji (b) Sujinah (a) Sugiono (b)
a) Reserch Center for Food Crops, Cibinong Science Center, Bogor, Indonesia
* suwitonobayu9[at]gmail.com
b) Research Center for Horticultural and Estate Crops, Cibinong Science Center, Bogor, Indonesia
Abstract
Cassava is a multifunctional plant that is used as food and feed from its leaves and tubers because it contains a source of carbohydrates and protein. Cover crops have the ability to form a symbiotic relationship with rhizobium bacteria which are able to convert nitrogen in the air into something that can be used by plants.. The aim of this research was to determine the effect of cover crop application on the nutrient content of cassava leaves and cassava starch. The experiment was carried out in a randomized block design with treatment of cassava varieties and cover crop planting time. Measuring the nutrient content of cassava leaves was carried out by taking composite samples of cassava leaves when the plants were four months old and measuring cassava starch starch was carried out at harvest six months after planting using the acid hydrolysis method. The research results showed that the nutrient levels in cassava leaves were 4.01% (Nitrogen), 0.27% (Phosphorus), and 1.38% (Pottasium). while the starch content of cassava flour has an average of 72.88%.
Keywords: Arachis pintoi, leaf nutrient, living mulch, starch
