The Transition from Conventional to Organic Rice Fields Affects Soil Chemical Properties, Growth and Yield of Rice var. Mentik Wangi Susu

Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Gadjah Mada Jln. Flora no. 1, Bulaksumur, Sleman, Yogyakarta 55281, Indonesia

^* Corresponding author: mohamadbasithabdillah@mail.ugm.ac.id

Abstract

The high use of synthetic fertilizer and pesticides in paddy field practice was not sustainable and resulted in decreased production. Therefore, organic farming is one of the solutions. A conventional paddy field is required to undergo a transition period where synthetic fertilizer is substituted by organic fertilizer before becoming an organic paddy field. This research aims to comprehensively describe changes occurring during the organic convention, including soil chemical properties alongside growth and yield. We assessed five paddy field systems: organic, transition III, transition II, transition I, and conventional, to simulate the conversion progress from conventional to organic paddy field using Nested experimental design. An enhancement in soil chemical properties occurred from the transition I toward the organic stage. As soil improved, transitions and organic paddy fields were able to grow at a comparable rate to the conventional paddy field. As a result, the dry weight, net assimilation rate, and crop growth rate were not significantly different in all paddy fields. Conventional paddy fields maintained a higher plant height, leaf area index, and total tiller number, which resulted in higher spikelet per hill and total grain yield. However, the yield gap between organic and conventional can be minimized to 9,50%.