The plant that cures bone and joint diseases brings income to Can Loc people

In recent years, people in Thuong Nga commune (Can Loc, Ha Tinh) have expanded the area of planting Dendrobium trees to develop the economy , replacing other less effective plants.

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The Den tree (also known as the Den lemon tree) is a woody medicinal plant, the leaves and young branches are often used to treat bone and joint diseases. This medicinal plant was brought to grow at home by Mr. Nguyen Sy Nghi - a traditional medicine practitioner specializing in bone and joint diseases in Thuong Nga commune a long time ago and the seeds are distributed for free to those who want to grow it.

Currently, the whole Thuong Nga commune has about 30 households specializing in growing Dendrobium trees, concentrated in the villages: Chua Hoi, Dat Do and Tay Bac. The largest household grows from 800-1,000 ^m2 (about 160-200 trees/household), the smallest household grows from 150-200 ^m2 (about 30-40 trees/household).

According to local people, this is a fairly easy plant to grow and care for. After collecting the seeds, people will prepare the soil and fertilize the seeds to grow into seedlings within more than 1 month. Next, the seedlings are planted in areas with high ground, not flooded. The trees are usually planted at a density of 5 ^m2 /tree to have enough space for the trees to grow.

“The marigold plant is very easy to care for. Just provide enough fertilizer and water regularly and the plant will grow quickly and produce many leaves. However, in hot weather, the plant is susceptible to leaf rollers, so growers must visit the plant regularly to catch the worms manually. Using pesticides will affect the quality of this medicinal herb,” said Ms. Phan Thi Lien (owner of a marigold garden of nearly 1,000 ^square meters in Tay Bac village, Thuong Nga commune).

The time from planting to harvesting the Dendrobium plant takes about 1 year. A mature Dendrobium plant will yield about 0.3 kg of dry leaves/crop. This plant is harvested 3 times a year (in January, June, and September of the lunar calendar).

The plant that cures bone and joint diseases brings income to Can Loc people

Leaves and young branches of the tree are used in traditional medicine to treat bone and joint diseases.

Currently, den tree growers in Thuong Nga commune do not have to worry about finding an outlet because all the leaves and young branches of the tree after being chopped and dried are purchased by Mr. Nguyen Sy Luan's family (son of Mr. Nguyen Sy Nghi) at a price of 70-80 thousand VND/kg. With 1 sao (equivalent to 500 ^m2 ) of den tree planting at standard density, each year people can harvest about 90 kg of dry leaves, with revenue from 6.3 - 7.2 million VND. In particular, after each year of development, this medicinal plant will produce more leaves and young branches.

“Previously, my family grew oranges and grapefruits on our garden land. Although we spent a lot of effort and money to take care of them, the trees always had low yields and the market was unstable. After switching to growing medicinal plants, my family has significantly increased their income and reduced the effort,” said Ms. Pham Thi Thuy (Chua Hoi village, Thuong Nga commune) excitedly.

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Mr. Nguyen Sy Luan (Thuong Nga commune) said: "To meet the source of raw materials for my family's traditional medicine, I have supported people to buy all the leaves and young branches of the Den tree. Currently, the demand for raw materials for traditional medicine is very large, so households growing Den trees can rest assured to grow them to develop the economy."

Instead of having mixed gardens and growing short-term crops as before, many households in the area have boldly switched to growing medicinal plants. This is a plant that is easy to plant, care for and has a stable market. Thanks to that, mixed gardens and growing short-term crops with low economic efficiency in the past have been replaced by medicinal plant gardens with high value, helping people to improve their gardens and have a stable source of income.
Mr. Duong Hong Lam - Secretary of the Party Committee of Thuong Nga commune

Hoang Nguyen - Sy Thong

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