Effect of Biofertilizer and Salinity on Growth and Chlorophyll Content of Amaranthus tricolor L

Amaranth (Amaranthus tricolor L.) is the most popular crop and vegetable in Indonesia. Their growth can decrease due to abiotic stress on agricultural land. Salinity is one of abiotic stress affects the production of cultivated crops and major problem for agricultural land. Application of biofertilizer can increase availability of nutrients and help plant growth in stress conditions. This research was to analyze the growth and chlorophyll content of A. tricolor L. after application of biofertilizer under salinity stress conditions and to determine the optimum dose of biofertilizer needed for optimum growth of A. tricolor L. under salinity stress condition. The biofertilizer dose used was 10 l/ha, 20 l/ha, and 30 l/ha, each combined with NaCl; 2500, 5000, 7500, and 10000 ppm. The parameters measured were plants' height, number of leaves, and chlorophyll content. The results showed that salinity treatment reduced plant height, number of leaves, and chlorophyll content. Application of 20 l/ha of biofertilizer increased plant height and number of leaves while application of 10 l/ha of biofertilizer increased chlorophyll content. Generally, it was conducted that biofertilizer can be used to increasing plant growth and chlorophyll content of A. tricolor L. under salinity stress condition.