Ngọc Linh ginseng likes shade and high humidity and is at home under the forest canopy. Taking this precious plant into large-scale production without losing quality is a problem many scientists are working on. One approach under trial is a dedicated organic growing medium for raising seedlings, and Minh Tâm has played a part in that project.
A project within the national product programme
The project's full title is “Refining the production and use of an organic base medium and functional microbial products for Ngọc Linh ginseng, for seedling production and industrial-scale cultivation in Quảng Nam and Kon Tum”, code SPQG.12.05.DA.10/21, led by the Soils and Fertilizers Research Institute (SFRI). It is one of the science and technology tasks of the national product “Sâm Việt Nam” (Vietnamese ginseng).
Vietnamese ginseng is also the focus of the Programme for the Development of Vietnamese Ginseng to 2030, with a vision to 2045, approved by Decision 611/QĐ-TTg in 2023. According to Báo Đấu thầu, the programme aims for about 21,000 ha of ginseng by 2030 and harvests of about 300 tonnes a year; the paper also named a shortage of quality-assured planting material as one of the sector's difficulties. Good seedling production is therefore a key link.
Nursery-bag media trials in a net house
In a trial net house, nursery-bag media formulas made for Ngọc Linh ginseng, labelled CT1.1 to CT1.6, are set out side by side for comparison. The trial sign states the aim: to evaluate a dedicated organic base medium and functional microbial products for raising and growing Ngọc Linh ginseng.
A nursery-bag medium is, in effect, a seedling's artificial “soil”: it anchors the roots and holds water and nutrients through the first months. For a plant as precious as Ngọc Linh ginseng, a stable medium that can be made again and again is the foundation for the large-scale seedling production the project is aiming at.
Minh Tâm's part
The project was presented at the kick-off conference in Quảng Nam on 21 February 2023, alongside the organic growing media and microbial fertiliser project that Minh Tâm carries out with SFRI under the Rural and Mountainous Areas Programme.
SFRI ran an online competitive quotation for the project's package “Other materials (pumice, organic fertiliser, NPK)”, with bids opened on 8 January 2024. According to the public record on the National E-Procurement System, Minh Tâm was the selected supplier; the result was approved on 16 January 2024 and the contract signed on 19 January 2024. Minh Tâm supplied:
Minh Tâm Urea (fertiliser code 01606), made at Minh Tâm's own factory;
NEB-26 (USA), a root-exudate technology product made in the USA, imported and distributed by Minh Tâm;
along with other materials for the trials: pumice, phosphate and potash fertilisers.
To avoid any confusion: NEB-26 is not a microbial product. According to the manufacturer, root exudates are not living organisms. The “functional microbial products” in the project title are a separate research component of the project team.
From Ngọc Linh ginseng to other medicinal plants
Experience with growing media and beneficial microbes is not only for ginseng. Within the Quảng Nam growing-media project, Minh Tâm and SFRI have also set up a model for the medicinal plant ba kích in Tây Giang and a model for flowers and ornamentals. According to the company's own profile, developing growing media for Ngọc Linh ginseng and many other medicinal plants, flowers and ornamentals is one of the directions Minh Tâm is pursuing.
Key facts
Project: refining the production and use of an organic base medium and functional microbial products for Ngọc Linh ginseng, code SPQG.12.05.DA.10/21.
Lead organisation: Soils and Fertilizers Research Institute. Area: Quảng Nam and Kon Tum.
Presented at the kick-off conference: 21 February 2023, Quảng Nam.
Trials: nursery-bag media formulas CT1.1 to CT1.6 in a net house.
Minh Tâm supplied materials, including Minh Tâm Urea and NEB-26 (USA); contract signed on 19 January 2024.
See the trial photos on the project page Organic growing media for Ngọc Linh ginseng, and read about NEB-26 technology from the USA and Minh Tâm Urea. Research bodies, cooperatives and companies interested in working with us on fertilisers for medicinal plants are welcome to get in touch through the Contact page.
Sources: National E-Procurement System (muasamcong.mof.gov.vn), SFRI tender notice IB2300392186; Báo Đấu thầu, 3 June 2023; Báo Đà Nẵng, 25 November 2023; Minh Tâm project records.
