IOSR Journal of Agriculture and Veterinary Science (IOSR-JAVS) e-ISSN: 2319-2380, p-ISSN: 2319-2372. Volume 13, Issue 8 Ser. II (August 2020), PP 48-54 www.iosrjournals.org DOI: 10.9790/2380-1308024854 www.iosrjournals.org 48 | Page Formulation of Slow Release NPK Granules with Addition of Polystyrene-Polycaprolactone Matrix and and Its Effect on the Growth of Chilli (Capsicum annum L.) Elfi Sahlan Ben 1 , Khairul Rizal 2 , Akmal Djamaan 3 * 2 Department of Pharmacy, STIKES Sumbar , Lubuk Alung 25581, West Sumatra, Indonesia 3 Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Andalas, , Padang 25163, West Sumatra, Indonesia Abstract: Slow release NPK granules were formulated with the addition of polystyrene-polycaprolan matrix and their effect on chilli (Capsicum annum L.) was tested. Chili plants were grown in-planta for 18 weeks with the dose distribution of 16 g/ plant for conventional NPK fertilizer as a control and slow release NPK bioblend PCL-PS with different doses (8, 16 and 32 g/ plant) determined by plant height, number of flowers, number of fruit and fruit weight at harvest. Bioblend PS-PCL has a good compatibility with NPK granules so it was able to reduce the release of nutrients from fertilizer. The results showed that the release rates of NPK bioblends PS- PCL and conventional NPK in distilled water media after 48 hours were 24.732% and 86.141%, respectively. There were no significant differences of the S1 dose compared to controls. At S2 dose, weeks 12 and 18 had a significant difference in controls for fruit count (p <0.05). At the dose S3, there was a significant difference in the control of all test parameters except of plant height. The dose of S3 was the highest compared to all doses (S1 and S2) given to the growth of chilli plants (height, number of flowers, number of fruits and weight of fruit at harvest). The large dose of slow release NPK fertilizer given affected the growth of chilli plants and the dose of S3 was better than other doses in this study. In this study the use of slow release PS/ PCL bioblends fertilizer has been proven to increase the growth of chilli plants in both height, number of flowers, number of fruits and fruit weight. Keywords: fertilizer, bioblends, polystyrene, polycaprolactone, growth and yield, Capsicum --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date of Submission: 12-08-2020 Date of Acceptance: 28-08-2020 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I. Introduction Chilli (Capsicum annuum L.) is the third essential plant of the Solanaceae family after the tomatoes and potatoes (1). Economically, chili is grown as a commercial plant (2). Genus Capsicum has almost 20 species and only 5 species are cultivated. Among these species, Capsicum frutescens and Capsicum annum are regularly cultivated throughout the world (3). Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (NPK) are the main nutrients in commercial fertilizers. Each of these basic nutrients plays an important role in the growth and yield of plants (4). Apart from the benefits of fertilizer for the plants, there are some obstacles that arise in the use of fertilizers by being spread such as some part of fertilizers will be carried away by rain or ground water and some part of the fertilizer will form emissions gas into the air that can cause climate change (5). This can be dangerous to human health and has a negative impact on the environment because it can pollute the soil, water and air. The inefficient use of fertilizers also causing a negative impact on farmers, namely the waste of resources. More than 800 experiments stated that on average 51% of nitrogen is left on the surface of the soil 6). About 80-90% phosphorus, 50-90% potassium and more than 95% micronutrient content of fertilizers are lost to the environment and cause large economic losses (7). Slow release fertilizer is one of the methods that can be used to increase crop production and the efficiency of use, also to minimize adverse environmental impacts (8). Bioblend Polystyrene-Polycaprolactone has good compatibility with NPK granules which can reduce the release nutrients from fertilizers. Bioblend Polystyrene-Polycaprolactone-PCL shows the slower rate of NPK granule release than conventional NPK granules which was 21.05% in distilled water media after 48 hours (9). The purpose of this study was to see the effect of slow release NPK fertilizer formulated with the addition of Polystyrene-Polycaprolactone matrix to height, the number of flowers and the number of fruits to the chilli plant (Capsicum annuum L). 1 Department of Pharmacy, University of Perintis Indonesia, , Padang 25163, West Sumatra, Indonesia