Shoot Production and Metabolite Content of <i>Cosmos sulphureus</i> Cav. Leaves with Different Rates of Goat Manure

Abstract

<i>Cosmos sulphureus</i> Cav. is a plant species commonly cultivated for ornamental purposes, with its young leaves being consumed as vegetables. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effect of goat manure rates and different harvest criteria on shoot production as well as the metabolite of <i>C</i>. <i>sulphureus</i>. The experiment was conducted in Kuningan Regency, West Java, Indonesia, from October to November 2022, using a factorial randomized complete block design. Goat manure rates examined were 0, 100, 200, and 300 kg N/ha, equivalent to 0, 6, 12, and 18 tons of goat manure/ha. Shoot harvest criteria were two and four top nodes, with each treatment replicated three times. The result showed that applying goat manure significantly increased the shoot production of <i>C</i>. <i>sulphureus</i>. The harvest criteria affected the shoot weight per plant, where the four-node harvest was 98.3% higher than the two-node. The metabolite content, such as crude fiber, phenolic, and antioxidant activity, was not significantly different between the upper and lower leaves. However, the lower leaves had a total flavonoid and sugar content of 38.9 and 12.6%, higher than the upper leaves.