Tien Giang: Diverse crop varieties, ensuring quality.

In recent times, the management of plant varieties in the province has been carried out quite strictly with the coordination of various sectors, levels, and localities. With a widespread system of plant seed production and trading, diverse varieties, and a basically guaranteed quantity and quality of plant seeds, the production needs of the people have been met.

A view of the conference "Assessing the results of state management work on plant varieties".

"In the province, the plan for 2023-2024 and the direction and tasks for 2025."

Annually, the demand for plant seeds for production in the province is quite large, estimated at approximately 1.4 million seedlings of perennial plants, over 10,000 tons of certified rice, 203 tons of vegetable seeds, and 24 tons of corn seeds. The province currently has 480 establishments producing and selling plant seeds, of which 350 have registered their information with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (NN&PTNT), reaching 72.9%.

* Variety of plant species

According to Mr. Pham Van Thanh, Deputy Head of the Agriculture and Rural Development Department of Cai Be District, there are currently 93 establishments producing and selling plant seeds in the district. 34 establishments both produce and sell plant seeds, including 33 private establishments and 1 state-owned establishment (Seed Farm 19-5 of the Cai Be District Agricultural Service Center); of which 23 are vegetable seeds, 9 are fruit tree seeds, and 1 is rice seeds. 59 establishments sell plant seeds, including 46 fruit tree seeds and 14 rice seeds. The main types of seeds produced and sold are durian, jackfruit, guava, lemon, coconut, mango, sapodilla, vegetable seeds, and rice seeds. The quantity and variety of seedlings produced and imported from other provinces basically meet the annual production needs of the people in the district and supply neighboring provinces.

According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the production and trading capacity of plant seed production facilities in the province currently meets the requirements. Specifically, regarding rice seeds, production and trading facilities are capable of supplying over 13,000 tons of rice seeds per year, including 3,000 tons produced annually and over 10,000 tons sold annually. The rice varieties are certified to meet the National Technical Standard on Rice Seed Quality. Regarding vegetable seeds, statistics from localities show that the supply capacity of vegetable seeds from trading facilities in the province meets the production needs of the people.

Durian seedlings at Tot Hoa Seedling and Ornamental Plant Company Limited, Chau Thanh District.

It has been the top choice for farmers recently.

The supply capacity of fruit tree seedlings from seedling production and trading establishments in the province is over 1.4 million seedlings per year (300,000 seedlings of various types per year from domestic production, and 1,100,000 seedlings of various types imported from other provinces per year), meeting the quantity and variety requirements for the production needs of the people. The variety of ornamental flowers is diverse and abundant, ensuring sufficient types, quality, and quantity to serve production, especially flowers for the Lunar New Year. The most produced and consumed saplings are jackfruit (300,000 saplings/year), durian (200,000 saplings/year), various types of guava (100,200 saplings/year), and coconut (180,100 saplings/year)... In addition, other types of saplings such as pomelo, lemon, sapodilla, and plum are also in high demand and widely supplied throughout the province.

According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Tien Giang province, in 2023-2024, the province's agricultural sector recognized 16 mother trees and 4 mother tree orchards, and revoked the recognition of 2 mother trees (due to tree death). To date, the province has 26 recognized mother trees and 9 mother tree orchards, with the capacity to supply over 3.9 million grafting scions per year, creating a source of high-quality propagation material to serve fruit tree propagation for farmers inside and outside the province to develop production. Annually, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of the province conducts inspections and assessments of the growth, development, exploitation, and supply of mother tree resources by organizations and individuals with recognized mother trees and mother tree orchards in the province according to regulations. Most owners of these resources properly care for and protect their resources, ensuring the quality of the resources meets regulations. In addition, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has submitted applications and received special approval from the Crop Production Department for the circulation of 7 plant varieties, including: Hoa Loc mango, Siamese custard apple, sweet cherry, Tan Lap Queen pineapple, golden flesh longan, Ri6 durian, and Lo Ren star apple.

Furthermore, the province's agricultural sector has restored the VD20 rice variety, a specialty of the province with fragrant rice quality, which is favored by the market. Simultaneously, it has created many new crop varieties that are adapted to climate change, resistant to pests and diseases, and have high productivity, quality, and economic efficiency. In addition, the province is selecting and testing good varieties of Siamese custard apple; and collecting and establishing a collection of several characteristic fruit trees of Tien Giang province.

* Use plant varieties with a clear origin.

Despite the achievements, seed management in the province has also faced many limitations and difficulties. Specifically, there is still a situation where seed production and sales establishments do not properly comply with the requirement to notify the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development before selling seeds. The labeling of plant seeds is not fully implemented by the owners of production and trading establishments. There are still small-scale seed trading establishments that have not completed the business registration procedures as required. Most establishments still produce and sell plant seeds that have not been officially approved for circulation, have special circulation permits, or have self-declared circulation permits, etc., as stipulated in the Law on Crop Production.

Indonesian red-fleshed jackfruit seedlings at Tot Hoa Seedling and Ornamental Plant Company, Chau Thanh District.

They have been buying a lot from farmers recently.

Furthermore, the use of uncertified propagation materials for the production of perennial fruit tree seedlings remains prevalent. Plant varieties of unknown origin are still quite common in the market. High-quality plant varieties have not been researched, selected, or developed for production; recognized mother plants and mother plant gardens are not being exploited to their full potential. Some localities have not paid sufficient attention to plant variety management. Most small-scale businesses and retail outlets obtain plant varieties from other provinces and resell them locally, making traceability difficult…

According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, to overcome the above situation, it is necessary to strengthen propaganda work, raise awareness among officials, Party members and the people about the importance of plant varieties, coordinate propaganda to help people understand and raise awareness of using plant varieties with clear origins and correct varieties (avoiding the use of unregistered or unknown varieties) to ensure efficiency in production. Encourage and educate people to use approved varieties with proper packaging and labeling, and to know their origin… Train and educate plant seed production and sales establishments on legal regulations regarding plant varieties so that they understand and comply with regulations. Promote the application of science and technology in plant seed production and digitalization in plant seed management; Effectively utilize agricultural data software and integrate it into the website system of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development; promptly disseminate new regulations on plant seed management to management agencies and seed production and sales establishments; update and publicly disclose the list of seed production and sales establishments online; and require seed production establishments to use QR codes to ensure seed traceability.

The leaders of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development requested the leaders of the People's Committees of districts, towns, and cities to direct specialized agencies and the People's Committees of communes in their areas to effectively coordinate and manage plant varieties locally. This includes focusing on propaganda and inspection of plant seed production and sales activities, and strictly handling violations according to regulations. The Department of Science and Technology is requested to continue coordinating scientific research programs related to plant seed production, supporting the application and transfer of science and technology to the people. The Market Management Department is requested to strengthen coordination with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in conducting inter-agency inspections to promptly prevent the sale of substandard and unidentifiable plant seeds; and to publish a list of establishments producing and selling substandard plant seeds on the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development's Information Portal to help prevent the production and sale of substandard plant seeds.

Huu Thong

Source: https://tiengiang.gov.vn/chi-tiet-tin/?/tien-giang-giong-cay-trong-a-dang-am-bao-chat-luong/57454194