Judul: Evaluation of Silica Uptake from Foliar-Applied Silicon Nanoparticles in Melon (Cucumis melo L.) under Soilless Culture
Abstrak: Melon (Cucumis melo L.) is one of the fruit commodities which get a great interest to be developed in Indonesia and has a high nutritional value. However, the fungal infection and pathogens in melon cultivation are considered significant problems that are difficult to manage. Therefore, efforts are needed to improve the productivity and quality of melon and prevent pest and disease attacks. One mineral nutrient that is assumed to enhance plant resistance and increase the quality and production of melon is silica. The purpose of the research was to evaluate silica absorption from foliarapplied silicon nanoparticles in melon under soilless culture and improve melon fruit's growth and quality by applying silica fertilizer. This experiment was conducted in the greenhouse at IPB University, Leuwikopo experimental station (Indonesia), from February to May 2021. The experimental design used in this study was a splitplot randomized complete block design 3 x 2 factorial pattern with four replicates, i.e., by adding silica fertilizer and using two varieties of melon. The main plot factor is applying silica fertilizer (Novelgro, water-soluble), consisting of 3 silica concentrations, namely 0.67; 1.33 ppm, and control (without silica). The subplot factor is melon varieties consisting of Alisha and Glamour. Experimental data were analyzed using analysis of variance and followed by Duncan's Multiple Range Test (DMRT) if there is a significant effect. The findings showed that the foliar application of silica fertilizer significantly increased the plant height, stem diameter, internode length, total number of hermaphrodite flowers, number of hermaphrodite flowers that are swelling, while decreased the fruit moisture content and gave the best average fruit position. Instead, melon cultivars produced in soilless culture differed substantially in terms of growth rate and fruit quality. Glamour cultivars' growth rate and fruit quality increased significantly regarding plant height, stem diameter, internode length, leaf area, fruit weight, fruit diameter, fruit length, total soluble solids, flesh thickness, and rind thickness, while decreased number of fallen hermaphrodite flowers. In contrast, the Alisha cultivar gave a better growth rate regarding the number of leaves, the total number of hermaphrodite flowers, and the number of swollen hermaphrodite flowers. However, the results of this study did not show any interaction between treatments on the experimental parameters. Moreover, our study indicated that the melon plant could absorb silica in the low category (<1% Si). The highest silica contents were found in the Alisha cultivar leaves and the Glamour cultivar's rinds treated with the silica concentration of 1.33 ppm as much as 0.34% and 0.30%, respectively.
Keyword: crispness, drip irrigation, fertigation, silica absorption efficiency

Judul: Pertumbuhan dan Kualitas Buah Melon dengan Penambahan Unsur Hara Silika
Abstrak: Melon (Cucumis melo L.) merupakan tanaman yang memiliki potensi ekonomi dan telah di budidayakan di beberapa wilayah Indonesia dengan pemupukan yang terkendali. Penggunaan pupuk sintetik secara terus menerus dapat menurunkan kualitas buah dan merusak lingkungan. Salah satu unsur hara dalam pupuk sintetik yang diharapkan dapat memperbaiki kualitas buah melon ialah silika. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk meningkatkan kualitas pertumbuhan dan buah melon dengan penambahan unsur hara silika. Perlakuan dalam penelitian ini yaitu pemberian pupuk silika yang dilakukan pada tanaman melon setiap tujuh hari, dengan konsentrasi silika 0%, 20% dan 40% dari takaran dosis pupuk silika. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa pemberian silika mampu meningkatkan pertumbuhan tanaman melon di antaranya tinggi tanaman, luas daun dan lingkar buah melon. Tanaman melon perlakuan 40% silika mampu menyerap silika dalam kategori tinggi (>4% Si) yaitu mencapai 5,31% pada kulit buah. Selain itu pemberian silika dapat meningkatkan kualitas buah melon yaitu memperpanjang umur simpan buah lebih lama daripada buah melon tanpa pemberian silika (kontrol).
Keyword: ketahanan penyakit, kerenyahan buah, serapan silika

Judul: Penentuan Nilai Eigen dan Vektor Eigen dari Matriks Tridiagonal 2-Toeplitz dengan Pendekatan Polinomial Chebyshev
Abstrak: The eigenvalues and eigenvectors of a matrix can be determined by finding its characteristic polynomials. The characteristic polynomials of a tridiagonal 2-Toeplitz matrix is shown to be closely connected to polynomials which satisfy the Chebyshev recurrence relationship. If the order of the matrix is odd, then the eigenvalues are found explicitly in terms of the Chebyshev zeros and the eigenvectors are found in terms of the polynomials satisfying the recurrence relationship. For even ordered matrices, the situation is more complicated. The problem in these cases is that although the Chebyshev recurrence formula is still applied, its initial values are not generating Chebyshev polynomials
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