Sitting indoors growing Tet orchids

Staff of the Center for Science and Technology Application and Provincial Variety Testing take care of flowers

These days, many visitors come to the orchid garden in Toan Thang commune (Gia Loc) of the Center for Science and Technology Application and Testing of Provincial Varieties to buy flowers. After looking carefully, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Trang in Quang Trung ward (Hai Duong city) chose a pot of 12 purple orchid plants. "The flowers here are cheap and beautiful, and their color is quite durable. I am very satisfied when I come here to choose flowers," Ms. Trang shared.

Because of her love for orchids, every year during Tet, she buys a pot of orchids. Before, she often bought them at the flower market, but one year she bought flowers of poor quality and they didn't last long. Since she learned that the Provincial Center for Science and Technology Application and Variety Testing has these flowers, she has been buying them here.

As a regular orchid buyer at the center, Mr. Nguyen Duc Ha in Tan Binh Ward (Hai Duong City) said that the flowers here have many types, quite even sizes and beautiful, long-lasting colors. Especially near Hai Duong City, transportation is quite simple. "Previously, to have beautiful flowers, I had to go to the Vietnam Academy of Agriculture to choose flowers. After arranging them, I had to hire a car to bring them back, which was both expensive and risky," said Mr. Ha.

Previously, because the factory was simple, it was quite difficult for the staff of the Provincial Center for Science and Technology Application and Variety Testing to grow orchids. Around the second and third lunar months, the center bought orchid plants with 3-5 leaves to take care of in the garden in the center's campus in Thanh Binh Ward (Hai Duong City). Around the seventh lunar month, the center hired a car to transport the flowers to Moc Chau (Son La) to continue planting. Ms. Pham Thi Hai Ha, Deputy Head of the Center's Applied Research - Technology Transfer and Market Development Department, project manager, said that the reason for doing so was because the weather in Hai Duong was quite hot, with no difference in day and night temperatures. In Moc Chau, this difference was quite large, with daytime temperatures ranging from 20-25 degrees Celsius, and nighttime temperatures ranging from 8-12 degrees Celsius. For orchids, there must be a large difference in day and night temperatures for the flowers to bloom. However, bringing flowers from Hai Duong to Moc Chau is very difficult, risky and quite expensive.

Customers come to buy flowers in the center's garden.

Before bringing the flowers to Moc Chau, the center sent someone there to rent vacant land from the locals to build a camp. The camp was built quite simply, only made of bamboo, with a roof above and water inside. The center had to send someone to look after the flowers until they were brought back. Transporting the flowers back and forth made them easily crushed and their branches broken. Because they depended entirely on the weather, the flowers bloomed unevenly, some years they bloomed early, some years they bloomed late. When brought back to Hai Duong, also due to the temperature difference, the flowers suffered from heat shock, leading to poor quality and an even higher loss rate.

Faced with that situation, the center has been invested by the Department of Science and Technology as well as related units in the Central Government in a system of equipment for growing and processing Phalaenopsis orchids in Toan Thang commune, with a scale of 1,000 m2, divided into 2 compartments. The house is equipped with flower racks, ventilation fans, air conditioners, and irrigation water. In particular, this system is connected to a smartphone or computer so that the person in charge can monitor the temperature and humidity in the house and make appropriate adjustments. The adjustment is also done on the phone or computer, so it is very convenient.

After 2 years of use, the orchid growing equipment system has shown clear effectiveness. Ms. Ha added that because it is divided into 2 compartments, it is very convenient to adjust the temperature. Those that need to bloom early will be moved to an area and the temperature will be adjusted accordingly. If you do not want the flowers to bloom, adjust the temperature to a lower level so that the flowers do not develop and will last longer.

According to the assessment of Professor, Doctor Dang Van Dong, Deputy Director of the Fruit and Vegetable Research Institute (under the Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences), orchids grown at the center meet the set criteria, with flowers blooming evenly, beautiful colors, true flower colors and a high survival rate. This place promises to be a major orchid supplier in the Red River Delta region.

THANH HA