New success on clonal ginseng breeding

After a long wait, the asexual ginseng plants were introduced by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Duong Tan Nhut - Deputy Director of Tay Nguyen Institute of Biology (Da Lat and Lam Dong City) in Ngoc Linh Mountain (Kon Tum). The main saponin compound of Ngoc Linh ginseng .

'Success is of international stature .'

PGS-TS Tran Cong Luan - Director of Ho Chi Minh City Ginseng and Medicinal Center said that when analyzing three 17-month ginseng samples of Associate Professor and Doctor Duong Tan Nhut planted in Ngoc Linh mountain.

There were 17 months of ginseng saponin.

In terms of external morphology, this 17-month-old asexual ginseng is similar to the 24-month-old ginseng grown from seeds with the stem at birth with 2 double leaves, the height of the stem is only 1/2 - 2/3 of the tree 24 month old ginseng grown from seeds; The rhizomes and tuberous roots are also as natural as 24 months old .

Through analysis, three major saponin compounds and high content in ginseng Ngoc Linh are naturally found in rhizomes and roots of ginseng 17 months old.

The total content of saponin obtained on the three main compounds of ginseng 17 months old is lower than the 24-month-old ginseng grown from the seed in Tra Linh (Quang Nam) but higher than the ginseng grown from the seed which was removed. real about Da Lat.

Also according to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tran Cong Luan, initially it can be said that this is a success of ginseng strains grown from asexual breeds and opened up a prospect to develop and be proactive. However, Ngoc Linh ginseng is a multi-year plant that wants to harvest at least 5 years or more; meanwhile, the results of analysis of asexual ginseng samples were based on 17-month-old plants.

Therefore, more time is needed to assess the growth of biomass and the accumulation of asexual properties of asexual ginseng. ' This success is of international stature because no research has been achieved at home and abroad for clonal ginseng breeding ' - Assoc. Prof. Dr. Luan said.

Hope for Vietnamese Ginseng brand

Although it has been known since 1973, but through research, scientists found that Ngoc Linh ginseng has the effect of reinforcing the body, preventing depression, combating stress, anti-aging, antibacterial, improving functions. liver.

Ngoc Linh Ginseng is not only a precious ginseng species of Vietnam but also of the whole world. This species has a high economic value (the current market price is about 20 million VND / kg fresh ginseng, 3-4 times higher than American ginseng, Korean ginseng, and dried ginseng price is also above 100 million VND / kg). Due to being dubbed 'the silver tree of gold', Ngoc Linh ginseng is over-exploited, endangered (Ngoc Linh ginseng has been named in the Vietnam Red Book ).

Clonal ginseng has survived in the wild and after 8 months it has been able to form tubers.

Currently, Ngoc Linh ginseng source is still very limited because this ginseng species is only cultivated in Ngoc Linh mountain area and the time of planting from the seed until harvesting tubers takes 5-7 years. Currently, the demand for Ngoc Linh ginseng seedlings is very high, but growing with seeds is very difficult because of the influence of many factors such as weather and feeding animals (seeds) so the normal germination rate is only 50-60%, sometimes even only 20-30%. Not to mention the process of ginseng growth, development and seed production must be 4-5 years, moreover the cost of seedlings is also very high .

In 2008, Tay Nguyen Institute of Biology presided over the topic ' Research on clonal propagation and root biomass production of Ngoc Linh ginseng' , with the aim of studying clonal propagation of Ngoc Linh ginseng to supply seedlings and ginseng root biomass by the bioreactor culture system .

Prof. Dr. Duong Tan Nhut, chairman of the project, said that up to now, there have been positive results, clonal plants not only live in the wild with a high rate (about 85%), but after 8 months of planting 35% of the plants have tuberous roots.

This result shows that the growth and development process of Ngoc Linh ginseng cultivated in vitro far exceeds that of Ngoc Linh ginseng grown with seeds (natural plants from seeding to formation Root lobe takes at least 2 years).

According to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tran Cong Luan, the time is still too short to assess the pros and cons of asexual ginseng compared to a planted ginseng. But technically, clonal breeding has the advantage of being able to actively control the number of seeds, the time to create seedlings to breed (3 months) is much shorter than the annual harvest cycle of sexual varieties (about 1 year)…

' The scientific basis is complete, the researchers wish to have a Vietnamese Ginseng Center in the Central Highlands to further research, more comprehensively about varieties and develop ginseng regions, to migrate to high altitude areas. Similar or similar ecological conditions. The State needs to invest more to expand the production area in order to soon bring ginseng into a commodity tree, 'said Prof. Dr. Duong Tan Nhut.