The effectiveness of the Achyranthes bidentata on steep hills

(Baonghean) - A new direction in Anh Son is to promote the development of agarwood roots on sloping hills. One hectare of agarwood roots planted with the right technique will yield 20 tons of fresh roots, with the current price bringing in no less than 200 million VND.

The land contracted to Mr. Nguyen Trong Chin's family in Hamlet 4, Cao Son Commune (Anh Son) has an area of ​​nearly 2 hectares covered in green by the Aquilaria tree. Mr. Chin is the "originator" of planting Aquilaria trees on Cao Son land. Nearly 6 years ago, after many years of wondering what to plant effectively on the barren hill, Mr. Chin made a bold decision to destroy all the 2-year-old Acacia trees to cover the entire area with Aquilaria trees.

Mr. Chin confided: “At that time, many people thought I was crazy because the hybrid acacia planting movement was strong but I was destroying it, while there was no effective model to verify the effectiveness of the agarwood tree. However, according to my calculations, 1 hectare of hybrid acacia planted for 6-7 years to harvest would only bring about 50 million VND, which means that each year 1 hectare would only earn no more than 10 million VND; moreover, the output was unstable, the consumption was forced down, while the agarwood tree market was wide open, especially during Tet when the demand was very high, so I decided to destroy the acacia to plant agarwood”.

Visiting the model of growing aromatic roots in Anh Son district.

After several seasons of growing aromatic roots, Mr. Nguyen Trong Chin has learned from experience that in order for the aromatic root garden to grow quickly and produce standard roots and tubers, it is necessary to follow the planting process in cool weather and when it rains, because this type of plant is not drought-tolerant and after the aromatic roots take root, if it rains, fertilizer must be applied and the base mounded. To prevent the soil from degenerating, after a harvest, Mr. Chin improves it by spreading lime evenly and adding organic microbial fertilizer to increase soil fertility. Thanks to these technical solutions, his aromatic root garden consistently produces high yields and quality every year; the average yield of fresh roots and tubers reaches 1 ton/sao, earning a revenue of 12 million VND. Thus, 1 hectare of hilly land has brought in an income of no less than 200 million VND. In addition to directly planting on the entire contracted land area of ​​nearly 2 hectares, nearly 2 years ago, Mr. Chin also invested in a factory, a crusher, and a drying oven to process incense roots and purchase all products for people in the area. Mr. Chin added: "Agarwood roots are very easy to consume, the market is scarce due to the processing needs of large incense production facilities, so people can rest assured about the output, I promise to people in the area that I will purchase all products."

From the reality of the model of growing agarwood on sloping hills for high income of Mr. Chin, in Cao Son commune, many households have also boldly converted from planting low-efficiency acacia, or branch tea (Gay tea) at the end of the cycle to growing agarwood such as Mr. Cao Ngoc Co's household planting 1 ha, Nguyen Thanh Hung planted the most up to 3 ha... Mr. Phan Viet Thuy, Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Cao Son commune said: "From the reality of agarwood giving high economic efficiency on sloping hills, the Party Committee and the People's Committee of the commune have issued resolutions and projects directing the Farmers' Association to mobilize and encourage households with hilly lands, with support mechanisms for seeds and techniques to replicate a number of models and methods of growing agarwood for high economic efficiency for members to learn and follow. Up to this point, the area of ​​​​growing agarwood in Cao Son has been over 30 ha and the area will be increased in the coming time".

The model of developing the cultivation of Agarwood roots is not only on the sloping land of Cao Son commune but is also actively implemented in some other communes such as Linh Son, Khai Son, Long Son... The People's Council of Anh Son district has also issued a resolution to support the development of Agarwood roots, specifically supporting seeds, fertilizers, and techniques. With specific and methodical attention and direction from the district to the commune, the models of highly effective economic crops in Anh Son district have gradually affirmed their position in economic development in accordance with the reality in the localities.

Huu Nghia