Introduction

Water hyacinth or Eichhornia crassipes, is an invasive aquatic plant originating from

the Amazon Basin of South America. According to Oxford Languages (2021), it is a free-

floating tropical American water plant which has been introduced elsewhere as an

ornamental and in some warmer regions has become a serious weed of waterways. Due to

its high reproductivity, which doubles itself within 5-15 days (Dersseh, et al. 2019), the

invasive aquatic plant provides problems to both environment and the people as it destroys

the natural quality of a water system. Water hyacinth can completely cover lakes and

wetlands, outcompeting native aquatic species, reducing oxygen levels for fish, and creating

ideal habitat for disease-carrying mosquitoes; and large infestations of water hyacinth can

prevent river transport, fishing, damage bridges, and clog dams (Stohlgren, et al. 2013).

The spread of the water hyacinth has mainly affected tropical and subtropical

countries of the world, and has been considered as an invasive species by countries such as

United States, Africa, Asia, and Europe since the 1900s (Dersseh, et al. 2019). According to

Carroll (2022) water hyacinths need full sun and hot summer temperatures to properly grow.

This explains why most countries affected by the water hyacinth invasion are tropics and

subtropics as they need these conditions for them to grow and reproduce at such quantities.

In Africa alone, water hyacinth has become quite abundant and has become a pest since it’s

first introduction in the 1900s.

The Philippines has not been entirely safe from the clutches of the water hyacinth

invasion. Historical accounts say that water hyacinth arrived and was introduced to Pasig

river during the year 1912 (Francisco, 2020). According to Jacinto and Lirio (2022), the

pervasive presence of water hyacinth has caused barriers to waterways and hindered the

fishing industry, especially in the major water areas of the Philippines. They also added that

water hyacinths can cause flooding, which was the case in Cotabato in 2008 when a

typhoon flooded nearby municipalities, due to the aquatic plant. Measures are being taken to

prevent the further spread of water hyacinths, such as the Water Hyacinth Harvester,
developed by engineers from the Department of Science and Technology’s Metals Industry

Research and Development Center (DOST-MIRDC) during 2012.

Water hyacinth is considered as one of the few Invasive Alien Species (IAS) found in

the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), and many people, according to Bengwayan

(2020), are not aware that these aquatic plants or any of the IAS are invasive. This can

cause major problems in terms of mitigating the spread of water hyacinth, because either it

is neglected by the public or is taken care of but not properly handled. An example of this

would be a small river/lake in Cabaruan, Tabuk, which has been covered by a large mat of

water hyacinth, which makes swimming and fishing a thing of the past. Since Cordillera,

especially Tabuk rely heavily on agriculture and not much on fishing, the effects of water

hyacinth are not felt that much by people. However, there are instances where water

hyacinths are introduced to an irrigation canal and can cause water flow to slow down if not

taken care off.

In this context, the research will attempt to create an organic fertilizer out off water

hyacinth (scientific name) stem and leaves with the inclusion of decomposed wood shavings.

The fertilizer will then be applied to onions (scientific name).

A study conducted by Lara-Serrano, et al.(2016) determined the physicochemical

characterization of roots, stems, and leaves of water hyacinth with the aim of providing a

basis for future applications. They measured the chemical composition, tannin content and

calorific value of the water hyacinth ash. Results show that the elements found in the water

hyacinth ash are silicon, calcium, and potassium. High concentrations of potassium,

chlorine, and calcium were detected in stems, whereas potassium and calcium were the

major elements present in leaves. Iron was also found present only in the roots of the plant.

The data collected in this study led to the conclusiom that this lignocellulosic material can be

potentially useful for various applications, the use as compost, and as extractives

substances source.
 A study conducted by Hossain, et al. (2015), evaluated the nutritional value of water

hyacinths from different regions. Results indicated that, there were no significant variations

(P> 0.05) in the dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), crude fiber (CF), nitrogen free extracts

(NFE), ether extracts (EE) and total ash (TA) contents of the samples collected from different

places. It could therefore be inferred that, the nutrient contents of water hyacinth does not

vary due to variation in geographical location. In terms of nutrition value, it can be concluded

that water hyacinth can be a potential feedstock for animals.

Another study conducted on water hyacinth was by Rakotoarisoa, et al.(2020) in

which they investigated the effectiveness of using a locally free natural resource, the

invasive plant species water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes), as a source for organic

fertilizer and soil amendment (composts, green manure and ash) of Lake Alaotra compared

it to the mineral fertilizer NPK—nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium—and to cow dung in

growing Chinese cabbage. The results show that it is possible to produce water hyacinth

fertilizer/soil amendment under the remote conditions of Lake Alaotra. It was also evident

that there is a higher biomass gain of Chinese cabbage treated with water hyacinth

composts compared to NPK and cow dung. Water hyacinth can be concluded as a possible

fertilizer/soil amendment and could help to improve agriculture at Lake Alaotra.

A study conducted by Iderawumi, et al.(2017) entitled “Nutritional Evaluation of Okra

Pod and Mother Soil as Influenced by Sawdust Ash, Ammonium Nitrate and NPK.” The

results show that sole sawdust ash (SDA) increase the soil P relative to control and sole use

of Ammonium nitrate or NPK in 2016. SDA and its combination with NPK or Ammonium

nitrate increased soil N, available P, exchangeable K, Ca, and Mg in 2015. SDA alone with

its varying combination with Ammonium nitrate and NPK increase the leaf N, K, Ca, P, Mg

contents. Addition of SDA to chemical fertilizer such as NPK or Ammonium nitrate increases

the soil and plant nutrients and also had liming effects.

A similar study by Iderawumi, et al.(2012) entitled “Integrated Application of Urea and

Sawdust Ash: Effect on Soil Chemical Properties, Plant Nutrients and Sorghum
Performance.” The results show that the combined use of SDA and urea fertilizer increased

the N, P, K, Ca and Mg content of the soil. The combined use of reduced levels of ash and

urea fertilizer increased growth and yield of sorghum. The sawdust ash (SDA) and co-

application of reduced levels of ash and urea increased leaf N, K, Ca and Mg status while

urea alone gave highest leaf P. It can be concluded that SDA alone or combined with urea

increased significantly growth of sorghum as indicated by plant height, number of leaves and

stem girth.

The literature review discussed are international studies that mainly focus on the use

or analysis of water hyacinth and its chemical contents as potential feedstock and fertilizer.

The literature review also discussed the integration of sawdust ash into existing fertilizer to

increase plant growth/yield. The studies have shown that water hyacinth can be utilized in

different areas including fertilizer. Previous study also suggest that sawdust ash can be used

as fertilizer. Despite the amount of studies evaluating the use of water hyacinth and sawdust

ash as fertilizer and other products, the researchers have yet to see studies combining the

two ingredients. There are also no study in which water hyacinth or sawdust ash was used in

onions. Furthermore, no study has ever been conducted here in Cordillera regarding the

problem, hence the conduct of the study.

Statement of the Problem

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of water hyacinth

(Eichhornia crassipes) stems and leaves with sawdust ash as an alternative fertilizer for

onions (Allium cepa). Specifically, the researchers would like to answer the following

questions:

1. Is there a significant difference between the water hyacinth with sawdust ash fertilizer

and commercial fertilizer in terms of the onion’ bulb growth.

2. Is there a significant difference on the different ratios between the ingredients present in

the fertilizer mixture in terms of onion bulb growth.

Null Hypothesis

There is no significant difference between the water hyacinth with sawdust ash

fertilizer and commercial fertilizer in terms of the onion’ bulb growth.

There is no significant difference on the different ratios between the ingredients

present in the fertilizer mixture in terms of onion bulb growth.