Variety quality: A push for large timber forests

At present, in some localities in the province, farming practices and the selection of forest seed sources are still mainly based on self-produced establishments or from sources floating in unregulated markets. As a result, some local’s acacia trees at harvest time do not guarantee productivity, quality, or even die prematurely. The solution proposed by the People's Committee as well as the Agriculture and Rural Development sector of Tuyen Quang province is to strengthen research and application of science and technology, synchronize all stages in the forest products value chain from production, exploitation and processing.

In particular, the province encourages to create a breakthrough in varieties, improve productivity and quality of plantation forests, develop large timber material areas and forest product processing technology; strengthen capability in renewing forestry extension mechanisms, forms and methods; promote international cooperation in research, training and forestry extension.

Notably, hybrid acacia produced by tissue culture method and acacia mangium nursed from imported seeds has shown outstanding advantages when deployed in practice. With tissue culture plants, because the selected mother plants are the most outstanding hybrid acacia trees to get shoots for tissue propagation, the seedlings have good disease resistance, especially common diseases in acacia such as root collar rot, leaf-eating armyworm, white stem disease...

Tuyen Binh Forestry One Member Co. Ltd is one of Tuyen Quang province’s major suppliers of quality seedlings. Along with ensuring on-site supply for production teams, the company also provides seedlings for those in need. The company particularly focuses on developing the area and number of forests planted from acacia hybrids.

Although the trees were grown at the same time and cared for under the same conditions, the tissue-cultured hybrid acacia grew faster, the diameter and the height of the trunk were larger than that the normal acacia cutting hybrid (Acacia auriculiformis x Acacia mangium). The 4-year-old tree can reach a height of more than 10m, the average diameter of the trunk is more than 30cm, the tree is resistant to wind storms and pests. The most effective crop has a density of 1,620 trees/ha. The price of seedlings on the market is VND 2,700 - 2,900/tree, about VND 1,500/tree higher than acacia cutting hybrid.

Beware of acacia wilt disease

Acacia wilt disease caused by Ceratocystis manginecans fungus continues to appear in the forests of Tuyen Quang. A recent survey of Tuyen Quang Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has already recorded 5 ha of forest in Son Duong district occurring this situation.

An officer of Chiem Hoa Forestry One Member Co. Ltd checking the situation of dead acacias in the company's area. Photo: Dao Thanh.

According to the forecast of the Tuyen Quang Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, acacia wilt disease may increase at the end of the year when the weather conditions are favorable for this fungus to grow on the replanted acacia area. Tuyen Quang province also recommended that forest growers need to regularly check and monitor the situation of the disease on forest trees; periodically survey plant diseases at least once a month on standard plots arranged according to the systematic method of plot randomization.