Organic fertilizer 'revives' degraded tea hills

THAI NGUYEN Ivan fertilizer is of natural origin and can be sprayed on leaves or watered on tea plantations. Thereby, it decomposes pesticides, improves and detoxifies the soil.

Many midland tea areas have degraded and become degraded due to lack of proper renovation. Photo: Quang Linh.

As the leading tea producing locality in the country in terms of area, output and income value/ha, Thai Nguyen province aims to continue to innovate and improve product quality, affirming its position as “The number one famous tea”. In particular, focusing on developing tea products that meet organic standards.

However, one of the difficult problems in developing organic tea areas for Thai Nguyen province is the decline in nutrients in the soil.

Solutions for degraded tea land

The midland tea areas in the province were all planted with seeds many years ago and are now at the end of their exploitation cycle. Farmers use many different varieties in the same growing area. During the cultivation process, people only focus on exploitation and do not pay attention to intensive investment. Many areas are not cared for and harvested properly, so the productivity of tea fields is decreasing day by day.

Long-term tea plantations are not renovated according to a reasonable process, and are not fertilized or fertilized with too little organic fertilizer, causing the soil to become too acidic. In addition, the lack of soil improvement plants and shade trees also causes the tea fields to quickly degenerate...

Faced with the above situation, the Thai Nguyen Provincial Agricultural Extension Center coordinated with Bach Duong Green Agriculture Company Limited to deploy a model of applying specialized fertilizers to detoxify and improve soil, speed up the process of balancing the ecosystem, and create conditions for root development on tea trees at cooperatives and households in Thai Nguyen province.

The type of herbal organic fertilizer used in the model is Ivan Ovsinsky Fulvohumate (abbreviated as Ivan) imported and distributed by Bach Duong Green Agriculture Company. Ivan fertilizer's main ingredients include Humic Acid, Fulvic Acid, pHH20... This is a type of fertilizer that specializes in detoxifying and improving soil, accelerating the process of restoring balance to the ecosystem.

Soil using Ivan fertilizer has a clear looseness. Photo: Quang Linh.

According to Mr. Vu Tuan Thanh, Chairman of the Board of Members and Director of Bach Duong Green Agriculture Company Limited, Ivan is a product of 100% organic origin, using nanotechnology. Ivan fertilizer when used can be mixed with a lot of water to spray on leaves or water the soil for growing tea, with the function of decomposing pesticides, improving and detoxifying the soil.

Residual heavy metals in the soil such as phosphorus, chlorine, sodium, iron, copper, and manganese will be transformed, reducing acidity, stimulating the growth of all microorganisms in the soil, and contributing to restoring soil porosity.

The model is implemented in 24 households with an area of ​​5 hectares of tea produced according to Vietnam organic standards TCVN 11041 - 6:2018 or produced according to VietGAP standards, converting to organic in Dai Tu, Phu Luong and Dong Hy districts.

Ivan fertilizer is used on the basis of tea fertilizers that each household is still using such as organic microbial fertilizers, composted manure, Que Lam 01 fertilizer, vermicompost, synthetic NPK fertilizer... The time to start using Ivan fertilizer depends on the current tea condition of the production household. Specifically, starting from the first use 3 - 5 days after picking; using the second use 5 - 7 days after the first use and the third use 5 - 7 days after the second use with the amount of use 0.5 liters/time/1,000m2.

Monitoring at 5 households showed that the yield of 3 batches using Ivan fertilizer compared to the control increased by an average of about 16 - 39 kg of fresh tea buds/batch.

Effective soil improvement

Mr. Mai Van Nam, Non Beo hamlet, La Bang commune (Dai Tu district, Thai Nguyen) is using Ivan fertilizer on 1,000m2 of his family's VietGAP tea to convert to organic farming. After using Ivan herbal fertilizer to irrigate the tea plants (starting from May 2023) and the third tea crop, Mr. Nam noticed that the tea plants were healthy, the leaves were green and thick, and the bud yield was higher.

"Although Ivan fertilizer has only been used for 3 crops, the tea hills have clearly changed. The soil is humus-rich and loose, and the roots of the tea plants have many new fibers. In addition, the tea plants are strong and healthy, with little moss or lichen on the trunk and surface of old leaves, and the buds are yellow-green," said Mr. Nam.

According to the Thai Nguyen Provincial Agricultural Extension Center, samples taken from the soil of households participating in the organic production model using Ivan fertilizer showed that the amount of arsenic, lead and cadmium had decreased and pesticide residues were not detected after using Ivan fertilizer.

After nearly 8 months of implementation, with 3 harvests, the yield of fresh tea buds increased by an average of about 16 - 39 kg per harvest on an area of ​​1,000 m2.

Ms. Ngo Thi Luyen, a technical officer at the Thai Nguyen Provincial Agricultural Extension Center, said that the first crop using Ivan fertilizer had new roots, and by the third crop the new roots had grown very strongly. This proves that the plant's ability to absorb nutrients well and metabolize indigestible nutrients well.

Organic tea buds at Khe Coc Safe Tea Cooperative are yellowish green, shiny, and have short tea buds. Photo: Quang Linh.

Khe Coc Safe Tea Cooperative (Tuc Tranh commune, Phu Luong district, Thai Nguyen) is currently using Ivan fertilizer for organic tea in Phu Luong district.

"Using Ivan fertilizer helps to shorten the harvesting time after each crop. In particular, the taproots and fibrous roots develop strongly. The buds have uniform thickness. After harvesting, we noticed that the tea water has a clear, yellow-green color, a strong natural aroma, a rich, mildly astringent taste...", Mr. To Van Khien, Director of Khe Coc Safe Tea Cooperative shared.

Khe Coc Safe Tea Cooperative has sent samples of tea products using Ivan fertilizer to its partner in Germany for customers there to experience the product. The leader of Khe Coc Safe Tea Cooperative said that the partner in Germany highly appreciated the quality of organic tea products using Ivan fertilizer and promised to come to Vietnam to inspect the production area to import the product.

With the environmental efficiency that Ivan fertilizer brings, Mr. Ha Trong Tuan, Director of Thai Nguyen Province Agricultural Extension Center, said that using Ivan fertilizer in tea production can gradually reduce and completely replace chemical fertilizers and pesticides if applied long-term. Thereby, contributing to balancing the ecosystem of the production area, helping the soil to be loose, preventing erosion, and forming a strong root system.

Farmers hope that Bach Duong Green Agriculture Company Limited will continue to have preferential policies for people when buying products to promote local organic production. Photo: Quang Linh.

Calling on businesses to make organic tea

Faced with the demand for clean, safe products and a green lifestyle among consumers and the market, the transition to organic agriculture through the application of specialized fertilizers to detoxify and improve soil on tea plants is an inevitable direction.

Therefore, solutions and participation of all levels and sectors are needed to support brand building and product promotion to enhance the value and quality of tea products. From there, affirming the position of "First famous tea".

According to Mr. Nguyen Ta, Head of the Thai Nguyen Department of Cultivation and Plant Protection, not only organic fertilizers, but also biological pesticides are the top priority for the agricultural sector of Thai Nguyen province. Mr. Ta said that the locality always "rolls out the red carpet" and calls on businesses producing and trading organic fertilizers and biological herbal pesticides to invest, develop production and distribute products.

Currently, Thai Nguyen province has built a large-scale fresh tea bud production area, with the total tea area of ​​the province being nearly 22,500 hectares, with an average yield of 125 quintals/ha. The output of fresh tea buds is about 252 thousand tons. The average value of the products obtained is 270 million VND/ha.

Besides tea trees, in Phu Binh district (Thai Nguyen), the district's Agricultural Service Center has coordinated with the authorities to select 460 households in 8 communes to use Ivan fertilizer on 50 hectares of rice, from June to November 2023.

Households at the model implementation sites all commented that Ivan fertilizer was effective, the soil was improved to be more porous, the rice plants grew well over the periods, and the yield was higher than the control fields, thereby bringing high economic efficiency. If used for a long time, it will bring even higher economic efficiency.

Source: https://nongsanviet.nongnghiep.vn/phan-huu-co-sinh-hoc-hoi-sinh-doi-che-thoai-hoa-d375413.html