Peat moss: an alternative rooting medium for tree species at the Forest Research Centre (FRC) nursery, Sepilok

The type of rooting medium plays an important role in ensuring the success of a vegetative propagation of tree species. River sand had been conventionally used for the past three decades in the Forest Research Centre (FRC), but was applicable to most and not all species. A comparative study of two rooting media (river sand and peat moss) was carried out for six selected tree species. Bungor (Lagerstroemia speciosa) and Karamunting (Rhodomyrtus tomentosa) rooted poorly in the river sand medium with a success rate of 64.8% and 57% respectively. However, when peat moss was used, the results were remarkable where the success rate was 93.8% and 96%. Sepat (Mitragyna speciosa) and Laran (Neolamarckia cadamba) preferred the conventional rooting medium (river sand) with a rooting percentage of 85.2% and 77.3% respectively, while Jati Laut (Podocarpus polystachyus) and Bangkal Kuning (Nauclea subdita) rooted successfully in both rooting media. Jati Laut recorded a rooting percentage of 100% and 97.6% whilst Bangkal Kuning with 86.7% and 97.9% in peat moss and river sand respectively. It was also noted that the use of peat moss helped to accelerate rooting which could be observed as early as one week (for Laran).