Effect of Bioagent-added Organo-mineral Nitrogen Fertilizer on Total Nitrogen, pH, and Chrome Content in Lowland Paddy.

Rice field soil quality in Rancaekek decreases gradually due to textile waste water to irrigation source. One of the heavy metal contaminant is chrome (Cr). As an effort to reduce Cr residue, bioagent-added organomineral nitrogen (abbreviated as BaON) fertilizer consisted of the mixture of urea, zeolite, activated charcoal, and plant compost enriched with bioagent (Bacillus subtilis) was added as a slow release fertilizer. This paper studied the effect of BaON fertilizer formulation towards total nitrogen content, pH and total Cr content in Rancaekek paddy soil. The experiment was designed in Randomized Block Design with six treatments and five replicates, consisted of: 0 (control), 150; 200; 250; 300; and 350 kg ha^-1. The result showed that the application of BaON fertilizer increased soil total nitrogen content and pH, and decrease Cr residue in Rancaekek paddy field soils. Application of 350 kg ha^-1 of BaON fertilizer gave the highest increase of total nitrogen in 60 days after transplant (0.11%), while 300 kg ha^-1 of BaON gave the highest increase in pH (6.18), and the application of 250 kg ha^-1 of BaON gave the highest reduction of chrome (16.15 mg kg^-1) in Rancaekek soils. This study suggests that application of Urea-zeolite-activated charcoal and bio-agent inoculated compost application could minimize Cr contaminated waste in the long-run. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]