The Performance of Vetiver Root Growth with EM.PB and Coconut Fibre-Physical Model

Abstract

Slope failure can cause serious problems such as infrastructure damage or death. Vegetation is one of the applications used to improve slope stability. The problem is that sloping failure still occurs due to a lack of shear strength or tension in the soil. This research aims to overcome the failure with the objective of identifying the morphology and properties of the Vetiver roots, measuring the shear strength and root tensile strength in the presence of EM. PB and comparing two different planting methods of vetiver grass. A direct shear test and a tensile test were conducted after one month and two months to find the strength of the vetiver root that has been planted in PVC pipe. After 2-months, the average Vetiver root growth with EM. PB has the highest value which is about 111.9 cm compared to planting with EM. PB and coconut fibre which obtained 92.88 cm. For shear strength, after one month of planting, the results of vetiver grass with EM. PB and coconut fibre had the highest value with 1.4936 N/mm² compared to vetiver with EM PB with a value of 1.3671 Nmm². While after two months, the highest value is 1.4936 N/mm² with coconut fibre and without coconut fibre is 1.4916 N/mm². Planting in EM PB and coconut fibre can improve the soil's shear strength, in contrast to the tensile strength data. By adding EM. PB solution to the soil, it can promote the development of vetiver grass roots, which can act as reinforcement for slope stabilization.