Story of growing ginseng
The majestic Ngoc Linh range, with year-round fog and cold rain, and a large natural forest cover, is a good and ideal condition for precious medicinal herbs to grow and develop, including Ngoc Linh ginseng.
And over the years, with the special attention of the Party Committee, government, businesses, and the efforts of the people, Tu Mo Rong has become known as the famous "capital" of Ngoc Linh ginseng in Kon Tum.
Participating in growing ginseng on Ngoc Linh mountain range, Mr. A Linh (Pu Ta village, Mang Ri commune, Tu Mo Rong district) said that every year after harvesting, people will bring ginseng seeds into the old forest to grow. By March every year, the ginseng plants sprout and produce roots. About 5 months later, the ginseng plants begin to grow well and can be transplanted under the forest canopy.
However, this is the beginning of the rainy season, ginseng roots are prone to rot and die. Therefore, people have to wait until October-November, when the weather is drier and the forest is no longer wet, to start the new planting season. During the new planting season, groups of households will go to the forest together, carefully pulling out the ginseng roots that have been planted in the nursery. Then, they will bundle them into banana leaf bundles and plant them in the prepared area.
When pulling out, you have to do it gently, use your hands to protect the roots, and carefully pick up each plant. Seeds are sown very shallowly, so when pulling out the plants, people only need to dig lightly. After pulling them out, they have to be planted immediately. If the pulled out seedlings are left for 2-3 days, they will weaken and die - said Mr. A Linh.
According to Mr. A Linh, when sowing seeds, the successful germination rate is only about 60-70%. When planting, the survival rate continues to decrease every year, so from planting to harvesting, the survival rate is only 30-40%. Although it is said to be cultivated ginseng, in reality, the seedlings are sown from seeds and grown naturally in the forest. The planting process does not have any impact from drugs or fertilizers when the plants grow and develop.
Mr. A Duc (Long Hy village, Mang Ri commune, Tu Mo Rong district) shared that Ngoc Linh ginseng only grows halfway up the mountains, where it is often covered by clouds and fog. Previously, the Xo Dang people living at the foot of Ngoc Linh mountain called Ngoc Linh ginseng "hidden medicine", a remedy that helps the people here cure all diseases. When they are seriously ill or bitten by snakes or have common diseases such as stomachaches, villagers often take out the ginseng and suck on it. The plant has a bitter taste and a fragrant smell, but after taking the medicine, everyone is cured and feels healthy.
Brand protection
According to statistics by December 2024, the whole province had more than 2,900 hectares of Ngoc Linh ginseng; Tu Mo Rong district alone had about 2,883 hectares with about 1,650 households, 30 household groups, production linkage groups and 4 enterprises participating in ginseng cultivation.
The province has also deployed a Center for breeding, preserving and developing high-tech medicinal herbs in Tu Mo Rong district with a scale of about 60 hectares. This is a place to provide Ngoc Linh ginseng seeds that ensure standards and quality for planting and expanding the area for the period 2025-2030 and the following years.
Mr. Vo Trung Manh - Chairman of Tu Mo Rong District People's Committee said: In the past 5 years, Ngoc Linh ginseng has helped nearly 2,000 Xo Dang households escape poverty; helped hundreds of households get rich, some households earn tens of billions of VND each year.
What is worrying is that there are many types of tubers and ginseng on the market that look similar to Ngoc Linh ginseng. This makes it difficult for consumers to identify and classify, creating opportunities for scammers. In fact, there have been cases of fake Ngoc Linh ginseng being sold with tubers that look similar to Ngoc Linh ginseng, causing great economic damage and damage to the reputation of the Ngoc Linh ginseng brand.
At the workshop “Ngoc Linh ginseng - Vietnamese ginseng from historical, scientific and practical perspectives” organized by the People's Committee of Tu Mo Rong district on December 10, right in the ginseng growing area (Tu Tho village, Te Xang commune), Professor, Dr. Nguyen Minh Duc (Faculty of Pharmacy - Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City) recognized that the rampant trade of fake ginseng is causing economic losses as well as the image and reputation of Ngoc Linh ginseng. In addition, Vietnam's ginseng development strategy is not really strict and scientific, causing difficulties, even limiting the development of Vietnamese ginseng in general and Ngoc Linh ginseng in particular.
Professor, Dr. Nguyen Minh Duc recommends quickly developing basic standards, national standards, and pharmacopoeia monographs suitable for each type of ginseng, especially applying effective testing methods to distinguish between types of ginseng and determine the correct value.
At the same time, strong measures must be applied to control the ginseng market, especially strengthening quality management to preserve the image and reputation of ginseng plants, for the cause of taking care of people's health and contributing to the economic development of the country.
Source: https://baodaknong.vn/gin-giu-va-phat-trien-quoc-bao-sam-ngoc-linh-244173.html
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