Growing organic yellow camellia helps plants stay healthy and leaves stay green

QUANG NINH The model of growing yellow camellia flowers does not use pesticides and herbicides, only uses organic fertilizers to help the plants grow stronger and the leaves greener than before.

QUANG NINH The model of growing yellow camellia flowers does not use pesticides and herbicides, only uses organic fertilizers to help the plants grow stronger and the leaves greener than before.

Mr. Ninh Van Trang (Dap Thanh commune, Ba Che district) currently has 5 hectares of yellow tea flowers grown organically. Photo: Nguyen Thanh.

Ba Che is a mountainous district in the northeast of Quang Ninh province. It has a cool climate, with temperatures ranging from 21 - 23 degrees Celsius and an average humidity of 83%, suitable for the growth of yellow camellia trees.

In many highland communes of Ba Che district such as Don Dac, Thanh Son, and Dap Thanh, growing yellow camellia flowers in combination with other plants has helped people increase their income, contributing to poverty reduction and becoming well-off.

The yellow camellia in Ba Che mountainous district is a tree that grows naturally in the forest. Previously, people dug up the whole tree and sold it to traders for about 1.5 - 2 million VND/tree. However, due to over-exploitation, the natural yellow camellia tree is gradually depleted.

Realizing the value of yellow camellia, people have gradually planted, restored and preserved this crop. In 2010, people in Ba Che district began to plant it in concentrated areas.

In the period of 2015 - 2017, Ba Che district supported more than 1.1 billion VND for 174 households participating in the concentrated yellow camellia planting project. Along with that, training courses were regularly organized to guide the people on planting, caring for and processing yellow camellia.

With the desire to preserve and develop the genetic resources of this precious medicinal plant, from 2018 to 2020, Dap Thanh Forestry Products Trading Joint Stock Company (Dap Thanh Commune, Ba Che District) has implemented the project "Research on the development of breeding techniques and production processes of golden flower tea products".

The research team has successfully applied the model of propagating yellow camellia plants by cuttings, meeting the demand for varieties for large-scale cultivation of yellow camellia plants, helping to develop local raw material growing areas as well as diversifying products from yellow camellia plants.

Dap Thanh Forestry Products Trading Joint Stock Company owns a 5-hectare organic yellow flower tea model. Photo: Nguyen Thanh.

Mr. Ninh Van Trang, Director of Dap Thanh Forestry Products Trading Joint Stock Company, shared: "The company owns a model of growing yellow camellia flowers in an organic direction with an area of ​​5 hectares, without using pesticides and herbicides, only using organic fertilizers and biological products to spray on the plants. Thanks to that, the yellow camellia flowers are healthier, the leaves are greener and the flowers are of better quality than the previous care method."

According to Mr. Trang, yellow flower tea is a medicinal plant, the leaves and flowers are all harvested for processing. Thanks to organic cultivation, products from yellow flower tea not only have high medicinal properties but also ensure strict requirements for medicinal materials, the quality of tea is also improved.

Mr. Khieu Anh Tu, Vice Chairman of Ba Che District People's Committee, said that the locality is focusing on promoting the project of planting yellow camellia trees, preparing documents, expanding seed gardens, model gardens, investing in improving breeding capacity, seedling quality and deep processing facilities for yellow camellia products. At the same time, it is encouraging the expansion of yellow camellia production models in an organic and sustainable direction to improve product quality and protect the ecological environment.

"By 2025, Ba Che district aims to become the province's forestry and medicinal plant economic center. To do this, we have planned the planting area, paying special attention to medicinal plants with potential, strengths, and high local value such as yellow flower tea and Morinda officinalis. Up to now, the whole district has 300 hectares of medicinal plants, of which about 170 hectares are yellow flower tea," Mr. Tu shared.

In 2018, the Department of Intellectual Property (Ministry of Science and Technology) granted a certificate of trademark registration for Ba Che golden flower tea products. Ba Che golden flower tea has become a 4-star OCOP certified product of Quang Ninh province.

Currently, Ba Che district has about 170 hectares of yellow camellia, mainly concentrated in the communes of Don Dac, Dap Thanh, Thanh Lam, Thanh Son, Nam Son and Luong Mong. The average yield of fresh yellow camellia flowers is 20 tons/year, fresh yellow camellia leaves is 65 tons/year. Revenue from yellow camellia trees in the district is about 20 billion VND per year.

Source: https://nongsanviet.nongnghiep.vn/trong-tra-hoa-vang-huong-huu-co-giup-cay-khoe-la-xanh-d408556.html