Bok choy (Brassica rapa L.) growth and yield in a floating system on freshwater swamps with various substrate composition and number of wicks
Published 2026-07-27
How to Cite
Copyright (c) 2026 Fitra Gustiar, Rofiqoh purnama ria, Hilda Agustina, Firdaus Sulaiman, Astuti Kurnianingsih, Lya Nailatul Fadilah, Feby Trilamedy Pangaribuan

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Abstract
Bok choy (Brassica rapa L.) is commonly cultivated using a floating system, a sustainable agricultural method suitable for flooded areas. This study aimed to evaluate the growth and yield of Bok choy grown using different substrate compositions and numbers of wicks. This study implemented following Randomized Block Design (RBD) with two factors. The first factor was the substrate composition: topsoil (M1), soil + cow manure + sand (4:2:1) (M2), and soil + cow manure + rice husk biochar (4:2:1) (M3). The second factor was the number of wicks: two (S2), three (S3), and four (S4). The results demonstrated that substrate composition and the number of wicks significantly influenced water mobilization, soil moisture, and plant performance. Substrates containing manure with sand (M2) or rice husk biochar (M3) showed superior growth and yield compared to topsoil (M1). Additionally, using three wicks (S3) optimized water absorption, resulting in the best plant growth. The combination of soil + cow manure + rice husk biochar (M3) with three wicks (S3) produced the highest growth and yield of Bok choy in floating systems within freshwater swamp conditions. These findings provide practical applications for improving sustainable Bok choy cultivation in swampy and flood-prone areas.
References
- ANSAR, PUTRA G.M.D., EPENDI O.S., 2019 - Analysis of type and length axis variations on plant growth in hydroponic systems. - J. Ilm. Rekayasa Pertan. Biosist., 7(2): 166-173.
- AUGUSTIEN N., SUHARDJONO H., 2016 - Role of various media composition of organic plant planting mustard (Brassica Juncea L.) in polybag. - Agritrop: J. Agric. Sci., 14(1).
- BARTLEY P.C., FONTENO W.C., JACKSON B.E., 2022 - A review and analysis of horticultural substrate characterization by sieve analysis. - HortScience, 57(6): 715-725.
- FAHMID I.M., WAHYUDI, AGUSTIAN A., ALDILLAH R., GUNAWAN E., 2022 - The potential swamp land development to support food estates programmes in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. - Environ. Urbanization ASIA, 13(1): 44-55.
- FELIPE A.J.B., BARENG J.L.R., 2022 - Growth and yield assessment of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.): An economic feasibility and performance evaluation of capillary wick irrigation system. - Plant Sci. Today, 9(1): 62-69.
- GUSTIAR F., LAKITAN B., BUDIANTA D., NEGARA Z.P., RIA R.P., MUDA S.A., 2025 - Intercropping of Leafy vegetables and Cnidoscolus aconitifolius with different canopy sizes in tropical climates. - Trop. Subtrop. Agroecosyst., 28(1).
- HE J., WANG C., ZHANG C., ZHAONG Y., LI J., ZOU S., WU J., SUN M., LI Y., WANG F., 2024 - Analysis of capillary water absorption within unsaturated concrete based on the principle of stationary action. - Buildings, 14(10).
- HIDAYATULAH R., APRILIANI S., SUSILAWATI S., AMMAR M., 2022 - Comparison of production of red chili (Capsicum annum L.) floating and non-floating systems at various doses of cow compost fertilizer, pp. 712-721. - In: HERLINDA S. (ed.) Proceedings of the Suboptimal Land National Conference, Universitas Sriwijaya (UNSRI) Press, Palembang, Indonesia, pp. 900.
- HO T.T.K., TRA V.T., LE T.H., NGUYEN N.-K.-Q., TRAN C.S., NGUYEN P.-T., VO T.-D.-H., THAI V.-N., BUI X.-T., 2022 - Compost to improve sustainable soil cultivation and crop productivity . - Case Stud. Chem. Environ. Eng., 6: 100211.
- JAYA K.K., LAKITAN B., BERNAS S.M., 2021 - Responses of leaf celery to floating culture system with different depths of water-substrate interface and NPK-fertilizer application. - Walailak J. Sci. Technol., 18(12).
- JUNEJO A.R., PAGE R., MAKHDOOM M.U., LARIK Z.M., DAHRI J., 2022 - Wick Irrigation, a water conserving irrigation technique for small areas? - J. Res. Agric. Anim. Sci., 9(11): 2321-9459.
- KURNIAWAN A.Y., 2024 - Socio-economic characteristics and land allocation on Tidal Swampland agriculture in Indonesia. - Doctoral dissertation, University of Giessen, Giessen, Germany, pp. 188.
- LAKITAN B., FHADILAH N., MUDA S.A., IRMAWATI R., RIA R.P., 2025 - Impacts of artificial shading on growth and some morphological traits of Romaine lettuce (Lactuca sativa L. cv. Romaine) cultivated in urban areas. - Int. J. Agric. Technol., 21(4): 1329-1346.
- LAKITAN B., HADI B., HERLINDA S., SIAGA E., WIDURI L.I., KARTIKA K., LINDIANA L., YUNINDYAWATI Y., MEIHANA M., 2018 - Recognizing farmers’ practices and constraints for intensifying rice production at Riparian Wetlands in Indonesia. - NJAS-Wagen. J. Life Sci., 85: 10-20.
- MALUDIN A.J., LUM M.S., MOHD LASSIM M., GOBILIK J., 2020 - Optimal plant density, nutrient concentration and rootzone temperature for higher growth and yield of Brassica rapa L. ‘Curly Dwarf Pak Choy’ in raft hydroponic system under tropical climate. - Trans. Sci. Technol., 7(3-2): 178-188.
- MUSLIMAH Y., HARAHAP E.J., LIZMAH S.F., SIREGAR M.P.A., MARTUNIS Y., 2024 - Nutrients and growing media effect on growth and physiological traits of Pak Choi Plants (Brassica Rapa L.). - J. Breed. Genet., 56(2).
- OH M.M., CHO Y.Y., KIM K.S., SON J.E., 2007 - Comparisons of water content of growing media and growth of potted kalanchoe among nutrient-flow wick culture and other irrigation systems. - HortTechnol., 17(1): 62-66.
- OZLU E., SANDHU S.S., KUMAR S., ARRIAGA F.J., 2019 - Soil health indicators impacted by long-term cattle manure and inorganic fertilizer application in a corn-soybean rotation of South Dakota. - Sci. Rep., 9(1): 11776.
- RADULOVICH R., UMANZOR S., MATA R., ELIZONDO D., 2015 - Aquatic agriculture: Cultivating floating crops on Lakes. - World Aquacult., May, pp. 62-67.
- RATMINI N.P.S., HERWENITA H., 2021 - The characteristics of swampland rice farming in South Sumatra: local wisdom for climate change mitigation. - IOP Conf. Ser.: Earth Environ. Sci., 724(1): 12033.
- RIA R.P., GUSTIAR F., RAMADHANI F., ZAMAN A.K., 2025 - Effect of fertilization methods on growth of grand rapids lettuce in floating cultivation systems. - BIO Web Conf., 197: 02006.
- RIZAL M.S., SUNAWAN, BASIT A., 2023 - Effect of planting media composition and dosage of vermicompost on growth and yield of pakcoy plants (Brassica rapa L.). - J. Agronisma, 11(2): 233-250.
- SETYAWAN D.B., 2023 - Effects of Pyrolysis on characterization of rice hull charcoal as growing media for plant. - Eur. J. Biol. Biotechnol., 4(1): 33-36.
- SIAGA E., LAKITAN B., 2021 - Pembibitan Padi Dan Budidaya Sawi Hijau Sistem Terapung Sebagai Alternatif Budidaya Tanaman Selama Periode Banjir Di Lahan Rawa Lebak, Pemulutan, Sumatera Selatan. - Abdimas Unwahas, 6(1): 1-6.
- ŠIMANSKÝ V., HORÁK J., BORDOLOI S., 2022 - Improving the soil physical properties and relationships between soil properties in arable soils of contrasting texture enhancement using biochar substrates: Case study in Slovakia. - Geoderma Reg., 28: 1-15.
- SINGH C., TIWARI S., GUPTA V.K., SINGH J.S., 2018 - The effect of rice husk biochar on soil nutrient status, microbial biomass and paddy productivity of nutrient poor agriculture soils. - CATENA, 171: 485-493.
- SUSILAWATI S., IRMAWATI I., HARUN M.U., ICHWAN B., 2024 - Shallot cultivation in tropical climate ecosystems using floating and non-floating systems with different doses of cow manure. - Adv. Hortic. Sci., 38(1): 25-34.
- VEAZIE P., COCKSON P., HENRY J., PERKINS-VEAZIE P., WHIPKER B., 2020 - Characterization of nutrient disorders and impacts on chlorophyll and anthocyanin concentration of Brassica rapa var. Chinensis. - Agriculture, 10(10): 461.
- WALLACH R., 2019 - Physical Characteristics of Soilless Media. pp. 33-112 - In: RAVIV M., LIETH J.H., BAR-TAL A. (eds.) Soilless culture: Scientific bases and practical applications. Second Edition., Elsevier, Amsterdam, Netherlands, pp. 612.
