Cryptocoryne wendtii can successfully be grown in river sand enriched with nutrients

Cryptocoryne wendtii is commonly used for aquaria and water gardens and hence is an economically important aquatic plant with a high demand in local and export markets. There are fifty species of genus Cryptocoryne out of which fourteen species including C. wendtii are endemic to Sri Lanka. Although Sri Lanka exports around 300 aquatic plants, exportation of endemic and threatened species collected from the wild is prohibited, but the cultivated plants. C. wendtii (‘Brown’) shows poor growth when cultivated in common soil which is used for normal propagation of other ornamental aquatic plants. Hence, this study was undertaken to find an effective substratum for C. wendtii , which is important for aquatic plant industry. C. wendtii was grown in five different media prepared with top soil and river sand in different proportions, both under emerged and submerged conditions. Results were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance. Plants grown in river sand had the highest dry weight gain and percentage survival compared to plants grown in top soil and river sand media prepared according to 1:1, 1:2, 1:3 ratios irrespective of either they were grown emerged or submerged, demonstrating that river sand enriched with commercially available fertilizer is the best medium to grow C. wendtii .