The Effect of Empty Fruit Bunch (EFB) Compost and Trichoderma Biofertilizer on Growth and Yield Performance of Chili (Capsicum annuum L. Var. Kulai)

Chili Kulai (Capsicum annuum L) is a typical and popular chili that utilized by Malaysians as a spice in their daily food, emphasize its economic value. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effect of empty fruit bunch (EFB) compost and Trichoderma biofertilizer on the growth and yield performance of chili production, as well as to determine physicochemical properties of soil and to evaluate N, P, K content of chili plant tissue. The experimental design used was Randomized Completely Block Design (RCBD) with four treatments replicated four (4) times with four plants giving a total of 64 experimental units. The treatments involved were: T1 (Control), T2 (100% EFB compost), T3 (100% Trichoderma biofertilizer) and T4 (50% EFB compost + 50% Trichoderma biofertilizer). The results revealed, there was a significant difference (p<0.05) for growth and yield performance of chili production. As for the nutrient content (%) in both soil and plant, T4 showed the highest NPK content with N (1.98%), P (0.76%) and K (0.69%). In conclusion, this study proved that the use of organic based EFB compost enriched with Trichoderma biofertilizer has increased the yield of chili plant, thus reducing the use of chemical fertilizer.