Integrated polyacrylamide and compost from salak fronds application for erosion control and soil quality improvement in Sidimpuan salak plantations on sloping land

Introduction: Sidimpuan salak (Salacca sumatrana Becc.) plants as conservation plants can withstand erosion on slopes. Over time, it turns out that the physical environment of the soil on salak land still needs improvement to increase production. Materials and methods: An experimental method is used in the study. Stage I is the composting of salak. The treatments were as follows: P0 = chopped salak leaf stalks (control), P1 = chopped salak leaf stalks + manure, P2 = chopped salak leaf stalks + manure + polyacrylamide (PAM). Each treatment was repeated four times. In stage II the provision of integrated compost with PAM on the soil was completed using a factorial randomised block design with two treatment factors and three replications so that there are 12 treatment combinations and 36 experimental units. Results and discussion: The results of observations of the physical properties of compost are changes in temperature and colour of the compost. Composting in the fourth week can be observed that the physical properties of the compost experienced a decrease in temperature to 26.5°C. The decomposition process is concluded, resulting in a biologically stable and mature compost material. Conclusions: The results of the calculation of the erosion rate from the physical properties of the soil using the USLE method are the lowest at 6.77 Mg∙ha−1∙yr−1 (PAM 30 g + compost + manure). The use of integrated PAM compost has an effect on soil erosion and can reduce soil erosion lower than the tolerance erosion (7.125 Mg∙ha−1∙yr−1).