Farmers’ perceptions of soil block nursery techniques on shallot seeds in Grobogan District, Central Java

Abstract

Abstract The research aimed to know the performance of seedlings and farmers’ perceptions of Shallot seed nursery techniques using soil blocks. The study was conducted in Grobogan Regency from September - November 2018. The research method used three nursery techniques, namely a seedbed with soil block, plastic bags, and plumbing. The data collected included technical data, namely data on the growth and productivity of shallots, and data on farmers’ perceptions of nursery techniques obtained by interviewing 30 farmers. Technical data were analyzed descriptively use an average value and t-test, evaluated farmer’s perceptions using 11 attributes and five evaluation scales, which were analyzed using a 5-scale interval scoring technique. The results showed that the average shallot productivity obtained by the soil block nursery technique was higher than the other nursery techniques. Farmers have a good perception of soil block nursery techniques compared to other methods because shallot seeds are very easy to grow, seedlings are very easy to move to the planting area, seedlings are very easy to grow in planted area, seedlings thrive in planted area, and size of the resulting bulbs is very big. The soil block nursery technique is an alternative to increasing shallot production.