The Effect of Ratio of Rice-Hulls and Compost for Seedling Medium and Net-Shading on the Growth of Asparagus Seedlings Planted in Polybags

In Indonesia asparagus is usually planted in highland regions for obtaining optimum growth temperature. Due to the limited land available for growing asparagus in high land regions, cultivation is now moved to medium elevations. The higher temperature inhibits plant growth especially seedling growth. Shading the seedlings with a screen-net could improve environmental conditions for better seedling growth. Asparagus seedlings grown in polybags need a suitable medium for crown development. Rice-hulls, which can be easily found anywhere in Indonesia is a prospective seedling medium. The aim of this experiment was to study the effect of mixtures of rice-hulls and compost on growth of asparagus seedlings planted in polybags under screen-net shading. The results showed that screen-nets could reduce day light intensity and resulted in better growth of asparagus seedlings as compared to without shading. A ratio of 1: 1 rice-hulls against compost in seedling medium resulted in better seedling shoot-, as well as root-growth than those grown in media with higher portions of rice-hulls.