Plant clean vegetables on volcanic foam

Foam or volcanic rock (scientific name is puzolan) is not very valuable, as if it is only used to build houses, but now it can be used to grow clean vegetables with many advantages. According to Dr. Hoang Manh Lam - director of Dac Nong Department of Science and Technology, in this province used to have many volcanoes operating in districts like Dac Mil and Dac Song . so the source of volcanic foam materials is very rich.

Land resources will be less, the climate is more and more complicated, the demand for clean vegetables of people becomes urgent in the future. Thinking about how to apply different vegetables on different substrates (compounds for planting trees) to replace soil at this time is an appropriate time - Mr. Lam introduced.

Radish grown on volcanic foam substrate for good results - (Documentary photo)

Do not know how to exploit

According to the project ' Study on the use of volcanic foam in Dac Nong to make the high quality of the nursery and production of clean vegetables ' of the Agricultural Genetics Institute, the Central Highlands region is home to many active volcanoes. action thousands of years ago.

Should pay attention to the environment

Mr. Nguyen Quang Tuan noted that the exploitation of volcanic foam in clean vegetables is feasible, but it is necessary to consider some issues such as avoiding massive exploitation leading to deforestation, in addition to necessary technical support arts and markets for farmers.Mr. Hoang Manh Lam also considered: need to exploit sustainably because this is a limited ' gold warehouse '.

During the eruption operation, in the volcanic basin basin, a large amount of volcanic foam is formed due to lava, this rock is quite light and highly porous, capable of good moisture.

Scientists around the world have discovered and exploited this type of stone to create a substrate for nurseries, growing clean vegetables. However, Mr. Hoang Manh Lam said in Vietnam the volcanic foam price has no precedent. ' I think we are sitting on a pile of gold and we don't know how to dig it up ' - Mr. Lam said.

After being crushed, the volcanic foam is mixed with some other mixed organic ingredients such as coffee peel, coconut fiber and sawdust to increase the moisture content by 40-50%. Along with the nutrient guide system in dissolved form, this substrate has a large and clean disease so the plants grow very safely without the need for pesticides.

Suitable for plants with poor tolerance such as vegetables, flowers . to grow. In addition, volcanic substrates are ' inert ' so they can be reused for about ten years without reducing properties like other media. Most importantly, the cost is also much lower than the use of other substrates for growing vegetables, so from farmers to vegetable growers, both can apply, Mr. Lam said.

Many advantages over land

The Agricultural Genetics Institute after sampling volcanic bubbles at some of the volcanoes in Dak Nong put into the experiment at the nursery of Gia Nghia Forestry Company (Gia Nghia town, Dak Nong).

Volcanic bubbles are found in the old volcanic area of ​​Thuan An commune, Dac Mil district (Dac Nong) - (Documentary photo)

After a period of time, the experimental samples all yield unexpected results: the vegetables and fruits are taken care of in good conditions so they do not suffer from pests, growth time is short, disease-free and much higher yield. compared to products grown on land and on other substrates.

According to Mr. Nguyen Tuan Khai - director of Dac Nong Extension Center, this is a project that is fully capable of being applied in practice because of the convergence of factors: material source, feasibility, and ease of application for models from small to large .

And Mr. Nguyen Quang Tuan, Head of Dak Nong Plant Protection Department, analyzed: the application of clean vegetable growing with volcanic foam can also create new sources for Dak Nong farmers. If applied to practice, it will surely bring about high economic efficiency, it is possible to bring Dak Nong into a specialized vegetable area.