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Among the herbal plants that have been identified in Indonesia, one of them is Benalu Batu or Begonia sp. Begonia sp is a new endemic plant species from the family Begoniceae which has antioxidant activity. This study aims to determine the effect of applying seaweed liquid organic fertilizer (LOF) at different concentrations on the growth of benalubatu plant. This research was conducted at the screen house of the Permanent Nursery of the Palu-Poso Watershed and Protected Forest Management Center, Tadulako University, Palu during July to September 2022. This research was arranged in Randomized Block Design (RBD) with different concentration levels of seaweed liquid organic fertilizer consisted in six levels of treatments ; R0 = control, R1 = 25ml/L, R2 = 50ml/L, R3 = 75ml/L, R4 = 100ml/L, and R5 = 125ml/L. The results showed that applying seaweed LOF affected the benalubatu plant seedling. The R4 treatment had a significant effect on time of emergence of the first shoots, the time of the first bud break, and root length. However, hadno effect on the number of shoots [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chili cultivation in dryland is constrained by limited water and low soil fertility. To overcome this can be done with the use of mulch and biofertilizers. This study aims to determine the combination of mulch and biofertilizers in increasing the growth and yield of chili pepper in dryland. The research was carried out in Sidera Village, Sigi Biromaru District, Sigi Regency, Central Sulawesi from July 2019 to April 2020. Soil microbial propagation was carried out at the Phytopathology Laboratory, Faculty of Agriculture, Tadulako University. The study used a Randomized Block Design (RBD) with 3 replications. The study consisted of 7 treatments, namely: MH0=control, MH1: straw mulch+Azotobacter sp., MH2: straw mulch+Pseudomonas sp., MH3=straw mulch+Azotobacter sp.+Pseudomonas sp., MH4=silver black mulch+Azotobacter sp., MH5=silver black mulch+Pseudomonas sp., MH6=silver black mulch+Azotobacter sp.+Pseudomonas sp. The variables observed were planted growth and yield. Data were analyzed by ANOVA. The results showed that the combination of straw mulch, Azotobacter sp. and Pseudomonas sp. (MH3) increased plant height, number of branches, number of leaves, leaf area, number of fruits, fruit weight, total chlorophyll content and speed of flowering time. Thus, the use of straw mulch and biofertilizers can support the growth and yield of chili plants, especially in dryland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]