PERTANIKA JOURNAL OF TROPICAL AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE

In pepper cultivation, seed quality is the main factor affecting plant productivity. The study aims to determine the best composition of seaweed waste seedling media and the mycorrhizal application to enhance pepper seedling growth in the nursery. The study used a Completely Randomised Factorial design and four replications. The first factor is the composition of seedling media: (1) Control (soil + manure), (2) Seaweed waste seedling media without microbes, (3) Seaweed waste seedling media + microbes. The second factor is mycorrhizal application: (1) with mycorrhizal application, (2) without mycorrhizal. The research findings indicate that the application of mycorrhizal fungi across three types of seedling media, including standard operating procedure (SOP), non-microbial seaweed, and seaweed with microbes, can enhance pepper seedling growth, chlorophyll content, mycorrhizal infection in roots, and nutrient levels in the seedling media. There is a synergistic effect among microbial consortia, with the addition of mycorrhizae improving pepper seedling growth. Seaweed waste media combined with microbial consortia and applied with mycorrhizae is recommended as an adequate soil substitute for enhancing pepper seedling growth.