Pengaruh Umur Panen dan Jenis Legum Penutup Tanah di Lahan Kering

Effects of Harvesting Time and Types of Legume Cover Crop on Soil Quality in Dryland Farming. Dryland is characterized by limited water resources, it depends on amount and distribution of rainfall and its low quality of soil. Effort on improvement of soil quality have been reported could be done through incorporating biomass of legume cover crops (LCC). Time of harvesting (then incorporated) and types of LCC determine the nutrients in the biomass, which finally affects the soil quality. A field experiment was conducted to study the effects of time of harvesting and types of LCC on soil quality in dryland farming area in the village of Sengguan, Gianyar Regency, Bali Province from August to December 2015. The experiment was arranged in a completely randomized block design with three replications. The treatments were the times of harvesting (or then incorporation) (3, 6 and 9 weeks after sowing or WAS) was assigned as the first factor while types of LCC (Mucuna pruriens L. (kara), Crotalaria juncea L.(orok-orok), and Phaseolus lunatus L. (kacang arbila)) as the second factor. Results of experiment indicated that incorporated LCC biomass significantly (P<0.05) increased soil quality (physically, chemically and biologically). Mucuna pruriens and Phaseolus lunatus harvested and then incorporated at 3 WAS significantly (P<0.05) increased chemical (organic-C, total-N, available K) quality of the soil, while when harvested 9 WAS the effects were more significant on physical (bulk density and porosity) quality. Soil moisture content increased when Phaseolus lunatus was harvested and incorporated at 3 WAS, while microbial activities (indicated by soil respiration) increased when Mucuna pruriens was treated at the same time. Keywords: Times of harvesting, types of legume cover crops (LCC), soil quality, dryland.