Enhancing the Resilience of Salak Gulapasir (Salacca zalacca) Production to Seasonal Variability through Drip Irrigation Technology and Compound Fertilizer Application

Faculty of Agriculture and Agribusiness, Universitas Mahasaraswati Denpasar. 80233, Jl. Kamboja 11A, Denpasar-Bali

^* Corresponding author: ketut.sumantra@unmas.ac.id

Abstract

Salak Gulapasir is a premium variety of snakefruit known for its sweet taste and a market price up to four times higher than Balinese snakefruit. The main production problem is the lack of continuous fruiting. Of the four annual flowering periods, substantial yields occur only during the peak season from December to February, while mid- and off-season flowers fail to develop into fruit. This study aimed to improve the resilience and production stability of Salak Gulapasir to seasonal variability through the application of drip irrigation and NPK compound fertilizer. The research was conducted in farmers' orchards in Pajahan Village, Tabanan, using a Randomized Block Design with four replications. Treatments combined drip irrigation with NPK (15:15:15) fertilizer at seven levels: no irrigation and no fertilizer, drip irrigation + 60 g tree⁻¹, drip irrigation + 120 g tree⁻¹, drip irrigation + 180 g tree⁻¹ , drip irrigation + 240 g tree⁻¹, drip irrigation + 300 g tree⁻¹, and drip irrigation + 360 g tree⁻¹. Data were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA). If the F-test treatment was significant, treatment means were compared using the Least Significant Difference (LSD) test at the 5% level. Results showed that applying 240 g NPK tree⁻¹ combined with drip irrigation supplying 280.33 L tree⁻¹ per season (equivalent to 1.5 L tree⁻¹ day⁻¹) significantly increased fruit weight, pulp thickness, edible portion, fruit number, and fruit set compared to no fertilizer and no irrigation.