IOSR Journal of Agriculture and Veterinary Science (IOSR-JAVS) e-ISSN: 2319-2380, p-ISSN: 2319-2372. Volume 7, Issue 10 Ver. II (Oct. 2014), PP 28-33 www.iosrjournals.org www.iosrjournals.org 28 | Page The Effect of Arbuscular Mycorrhizae Fungi (AMF) Glomus sp. and Compost on Growth and Yield of Maize (Zea mays L.) Susi Mindarti 1 , Karuniawan P. Wicaksono 2 , Titin Sumarni 2 1 (Master Program of Plant Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Brawijaya, Malang-Indonesia) 2 (Faculty of Agriculture, University of Brawijaya, Malang-Indonesia) Abstract: Objectives of the research were to study the effect of Arbuscular Mycorrhizae Fungi could reduce the need of compost and increase the yield of maize. The research applied Split Plot Design by 3 replications. The main plot was AMF, which comprised of 2 levels: without AMF and AMF. Sub Plot was dosage of the compost, which comprised of 5 levels, such as: 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20 ton ha -1 . Result of the research showed significant interaction between AMF and compost on various observed parameters. On parameter of growth, AMF treatment and dosage of the compost 10 ton ha -1 have been able to increase leaf area, dry weight of root, dry weight of shoot and dry weight of cob, as well as reduce the need of compost for about 50%. On parameter of yield, AMF treatment and compost 15 ton ha -1 have been able to increase the weight of cob and weight of 100 seeds, as well as to reduce the need of compost for about 25%, while on weight of dry grains, the increasing dosage of compost up to 20 ton ha -1 has still been able to increase the yield. The application of AMF by dosage of compost 10 and 15 ton ha -1 as better as in increasing weight of the corn grains. Keywords: Arbuscular Mycorrhizae Fungi (AMF), compost fertilizer, maize (Zea mays L.) I. Introduction Maize belongs to cereal crops, which is valuable as foodstuff, feed and biofuel. In Indonesia, the national production of maize in 2013 decreased 4.5% from 19.39 million ton in 2012 became 18.51 million ton (Ministry of Agriculture, 2014) [1]. Maize productivity decrease due to various problems in breeding, which frequently occur and one of them is nutrient availability in the soil. In general, the soil problem in tropical area relates to low level of organic materials content in the soil (Handayanto and Hairiah, 2007) [2]. Adding the organic fertilizer, which is derived from animal manure, does not only add the organic materials in the soil, but also contribute to nutrient availability, such as N, P, and K, as well as make the application of inorganic fertilizer become more efficient. In agricultural practices, full organic fertilization is highly difficult to be applied due to relative lesser amount of nutrient that contain in the organic material (Atmojo, 2010) [3]. Application of greater amount of organic fertilizers in the same time is difficult; therefore it requires an effort to reduce the organic fertilizer. Other effort that can be done to overcome condition of the soil as medium of the crop is the application of microbial-based technology. Arbuscular Mycorrhizae is an alternative that can be applied to increase the fertilization efficiency (Mosse, 1981) [4]. The role of AMF on roots would be able to increase ability of the root in absorbing P, efficient fertilization, assisting the growth and viability of the crop (Blal et al., 1997)[5]. II. Material And Method The research was conducted at Dadaptulis Village – Junrejo, Batu – East Java, at the altitude of 560 m above sea level (asl) in Inceptisol soil, and temperature ranges 26 o – 29 o C. The research was started from September to December 2013. Materials of the research included: corn seed of BISI-18 variety, Arbuscular Mycorrhizae Fungi Glomus sp. using zeolite medium, cow manure, inorganic fertilizers of Urea, SP-36 and KCl. The research applied Split Plot Design by 3 replications, such as Main Plot: Arbuscular Mycorrhizae Fungi (M) that comprised of 2 levels, such as M0: without AMF and M1: AMF. Sub Plot: Compost (K) comprised of 5 levels, such as K0: 0 ton ha -1 , K1: 5 ton ha -1 , K2: 10 ton ha -1 , K3: 15 ton ha -1 and K4: 20 ton ha -1 . The application of AMF simultaneously with the seed planting for about 30 g plant -1 and application of compost fertilizer was given a week before planting. Urea fertilization was applied by dosage of 350 kg ha -1 , SP 36 by dosage of 300 kg ha -1 and KCl by dosage of 100 kg ha -1 . Observation on growth included: leaf area (cm 2 ), dry weight of root (g), dry weight of shoot (g) and dry weight of cob (g). Observation on harvest included: weight of cob (g), weight 100 seeds (g) and weight of grains (ton ha -1 ). Chemical analysis on soil has been done before planting as presented in Table 1. Data of the observation was analyzed by analysis of variance (F-test) at the level 5% in order to find out the effect of treatment. If the result has non significant difference, it would be followed by LSD (Least Significant Difference) test by significant level of 5% to find out any difference among treatments.