THE EFFECT OF LIGHT LIGHTING TIME ON THE GROWTH OF KENIKIR

(Cosmos caudatus Kunth.) MICROGREEN IN VARIOUS PLANT MEDIA. Thesis: Muhammad Fida Al Faris (H0716087). Advisor: Ir. Retna Bandriyati Arniputri, M.S, Andriyana Setyawati, S.P., M.P., Ph.D. Study Program: Agrotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture, Sebelas Maret University (UNS) Surakarta.

Urban land which has limited space means that kenikir vegetables grown in urban areas are very limited. One way to overcome this condition is by growing microgreen vegetables indoors with LED lighting. LED (Light Emitting Diode) lights are used to meet the light needs of plants, are safe to use in plant culture, do not contain mercury, and do not produce high temperatures that can harm microgreen plants. This research aims to determine the effect of long exposure to LED lights on the growth of kenikir microgreen on various planting media. Research was conducted at the Plant Physiology & Biotechnology Laboratory and Soil Physics Laboratory, Faculty of Agriculture, Sebelas Maret University, Surakarta from February to May 2023

This research uses a nested research design with 2 factors and 3 replications, the first factor is the length of illumination of the LED lights (4 levels), namely 8, 12, 16 and 24 hours, the second factor is the planting media (3 levels) consisting of flannel cloth, rockwool, and cocopeat. The variables observed included plant height, cotyledon leaf area index, plant fresh weight, plant dry weight, number of cotyledon leaves and chlorophyll content.

The results of the research showed that different planting media did not show differences in results between one and another in the growth of kenikir microgreens, cocopeat planting media had better results compared to other planting media for the growth of kenikir plants.

Keywords : cocopeat; fresh vegetable; light energy; medicinal plant; urban farming.