Aquilaria crassna tree is a common name for a genus of plants of the Aquilaria family including 15 diverse species distributed scattered in Asia in the rainforest areas of Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Laos and one other countries. Aquilaria crassna is famous for being a billion dollar tree because it can create agarwood. So what are the features of Aquilaria crassna ? Where do they thrive? How do they create agarwood?
- Cultivating Aquilaria crassna to harvest Agarwood
A few people notice that although Agarwood and Kynam or kyara in Japanese are made up of Aquilaria crassna, not all types of Aquilaria crassna can do so. It is very difficult for people to find Aquilaria crassna trees that can produce agarwood and Ky nam. On average, the success rate is 1:1000.
Aquilaria crassna has a special structure thanks to the function of the fibers that can produce nutrients. When injured by the external influences of nature or people, the Aquilaria crassna tree will release resin to cover the wound and prevent the wound from becoming infected by external agents. Over a long time of forming and developing oil will accumulate and gradually change over many stages depending on climatic conditions. Therefore, it will be created from Toc, Banh to Agarwood and Kynam or kyara in Japanese.
Currently,the market’s demand for agarwood has started to exceed its supply. People have found a way to intervene by science to increase the rate of artificial agarwood production. When Aquilaria crassna is old enough, they will be drilled holes to create sediment in the body, then probiotics are used to implant to help stimulate the formation of wounds faster and stronger. As a result, microorganisms will easily penetrate faster, speed up the formation and formation process of Agarwood.
- Morphological characteristics of the plant
Aquilaria crassna is the form of stem, fruit. The average height is 6-20m, but there are also large trees that can grow up to 30-40m. The large trunk is about 60cm in diameter with a smooth gray bark. Inside the crust is light yellow wood with black grain. The leaves are 5-11cm long and 2-4cm wide, oval, ovoid or spear shaped. While the upper surface of the leaf blade is smooth and dark green, the underside has a lighter green pigment with soft bristles.
In terms of flowers, yellow-green flowers grow in clusters in the axils of the leaves. Beginning in the 4th or 5th year, the tree will begin to bear fruit. In Vietnam, around February or March there will be flowers and by June or July the fruit will ripen.
- Distribution features of Aquilaria crassna
Due to the tropical climate, this plant is often distributed in Southeast Asia and the island of New Guinea as mentioned at the beginning of the article. Vietnam has the largest quantity and quality of Agarwood over the world. Agarwood has become a mysterious legend in the life and consciousness of the Vietnamese for thousands of years because of its value.
Nowadays, in Vietnam, there are 4 main types of Aquilaria crassna tree, including: Aquilaria crassna Pierre ex Lecomte, Aquilaria baillonii Pierre ex Lecomte, Aquilaria banaense Pham-hoang-Ho and species of Aquilaria rugosa LCKiệt & PJ.A Kessler . They are distributed in the tropical forests and primary forests in the North, South and Central Highlands. Specifically:
North: Hoang Lien Son, Vinh Phu, Hoa Binh, Ha Tay, Quang Ninh, Bac Ha, Cao Bang, Lang Son, Ha Bac.
Central: Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien, Quang Nam, Da Nang, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa.
Central Highlands( Tay Nguyen): Gia Lai, Kon Tum, Dak Lak.
South: Binh Thuan, Lam Dong, Binh Phuoc, Dong Nai, Tay Ninh, An Giang, Kien Giang, Phu Quoc Island.
- Prospects and challenges of farming Aquilaria crassna
This plant has been and will bring increasing economic efficiency and provide likelihood for farmers in Vietnam. Not only in our country, in other nations such as the US, Europe or especially the Middle East countries, the consumption of agarwood related products is growing continuously. In recent years, many people try to cultivate Aquilaria crassna with the hope of creating agarwood.
However, Vietnamese people are also facing many difficulties in the path of conquering agarwood production. First, it takes a long and arduous time to create agarwood from Aquilaria crassna. Specifically, about 10 years to hundreds years, many people give up easily because they spend a lot of effort but get nothing back. In addition, despite having favorable natural conditions suitable to the growth and development of Aquilaria crassna, the technology of using agarwood substrates is still limited, with many weaknesses, quality and productivity are not ensured. Overcoming these shortcomings, output and quality will be improved significantly, contributing to stabilizing people’s lives.
