Pengaruh Pemangkasan Cabang dan Jarak Tanam Terhadap Pertumbuhan dan Produksi Tanaman Semangka (Citrullus vulgaris Schard)

Abstract

Essay. Under the guidance of Syahbudin Hasibuan, as the Chairperson of the Guidance and Rizal Azis, as the Advisory Member. This study aimed to determine the effect of branch pruning and spacing on the growth and production of watermelon plants (Citrullus vulgaris Schard), which was carried out in the Experimental Garden of the Faculty of Agriculture, Medan Area, located on Jalan Kolam No.1 Medan Estate, Percut Sei Tuan District, with a height of 12 meters above sea level (asl), flat topography and alluvial soil types. The study was conducted from September to November 2018. The design used in this study is Factorial Randomized Block Design (RBD) with two treatment factors, namely: 1) Factors of various treatment methods of pruning (P) consisting of 4 levels, namely: P0 = No pruning; P1 = Pruning of primary branches; P2 = Pruning of primary branches and 1-5 secondary branches in all primary branches; P3 = Pruning of primary branches and 1-10 secondary branches in all primary branches, and 2) Treatment factors for various planting distance methods (J) consisting of 4 levels, namely: J0 = 50 cm x 250 cm (7 plants / plot); J1 = 75 cm x 250 cm (6 plants / plot); J2 = 100 cm x 250 cm (4 plants / plot); J3 = 125 cm x 250 cm (4 plants / plot and carried out with replications of 2 replications. The parameters observed in this study were plant length, flowering age, number of secondary branches, number of fruits per sample, fruit weight per plant sample, fruit diameter per plant sample and fruit weight per plot. The results obtained from this study are: 1) Pruning of watermelon plants has a very significant effect on plant length, flowering age, number of secondary branches, number of fruits per plant sample, fruit weight per plant sample, fruit diameter per plant sample and fruit weight per plot; 2) Watermelon spacing has a very significant effect on flowering age, number of fruits per plant sample, fruit weight per plant sample, fruit diameter per plant sample and fruit weight per plot, but it has no significant effect on plant length and number of secondary branches; and 3) The interaction between the two treatment factors has no significant effect on the growth and production of watermelon plants.