Vegetative propagation of Dryobalanops sumatrensis and Dryobalanops oblongifolia subsp. oblongifolia by shoot cuttings

Abstract

Abstract The existence of Dryobalanops sumatrensis and D. oblongifolia subsp. oblongifolia in Indonesia’s natural forest is increasingly threatened due to land use changes and illegal logging leading to the urgent need of conservation actions in the field. Vegetative propagation by shoot cuttings has been proposed as an alternative method, yet there have been still lacks of information regarding the suitable rooting media and the use of shoots from saplings as cutting materials. This study was to evaluate the survival rate, rooting and shoot sprouting abilites of D. sumatrensis and D. oblongifolia subsp. oblongifolia on two different media (mineral soil and peat). Saplings of the D. sumatrensis aged older than 7 years old and D. oblongifolia subsp. oblongifolia aged less than 2 years old were used as cutting materials. The results showed that the survival rate of D. sumatrensis in peat (43.75%) and mineral soil media (43.75%) was lower than D. oblongifolia subsp. oblongifolia in for peat media (54.55%) and minerals soil media (71.88%). The rooting and shoot sprouting percentage of D. sumatrensis in peat and mineral soil media was also lower than D. oblongifolia subsp oblongifolia. This pattern revealed that the media treatment (peat and minerals) did not affect the survival rate and rooting ability of D. sumatrensis shoot cuttings, but has an effect on D. oblongifolia subsp. oblongifolia.