(VEN) – Professor Doctor and People’s Teacher Nguyen Quang Thach, the former chairman of the Institute of Agro-biology of Hanoi University of Agriculture and vice-chairman of the Vietnam Biology Association was the first person to introduce aeroponic technology to Vietnam.
Professor, Dr. Nguyen Quang Thach (first from the left) introduces the aeroponic technology He said, “It can’t be said that the quality of Vietnam’s science is low, as apart from the application of technology into real-life production, Vietnamese scientists are continuing to make new discoveries.”
| Addressing the issue whether scientific research was more important than applied science, Prof Dr Thach said research remained very important as it confirmed the effectiveness of scientific discoveries and their impact on production. He stressed that the country should take advantage of domestic and international scientific achievements to promote the application of science in everyday life. |
Growing plants without soil
More than a decade ago, Prof Dr Nguyen Quang Thach started researching aeroponic technology – a method of growing plants without using soil. At the time, aeroponics was a new achievement in the agricultural field in Vietnam though it was applied in other countries. By 2006, Prof Dr Thach officially carried out a national biotechnological research program on aeroponics and the application of a disease-free potato, vegetable and flower model. In 2010, the project concluded in success and was applied.. Prof Dr Thach said the principle of aeroponic technology is to grow plants by spraying the plant’s roots with an atomized or sprayed, nutrient-rich water solution. Preliminary calculations showed that this new technology helped reduce the use of water by 90 percent, fertilizer by 95 percent and pesticides by 99 percent.
Aeroponics produces natural healthy plants and crops. When a plant catches diseases, it can be easily removed out of the system and minimizes the impact on other crops.
The new technology also brings higher yields. Take potatoes production for example, Prof Dr Thach and his colleagues could take the initiative in controlling the growth and the formation of potato bulbs so the number of bulbs could reach from 15-200/plant, depending on the variety of potatoes, compared to 5-10/plant using traditional methods. Apart from potatoes, he and experts from the Institute of Agro-biology applied aeroponics to multiplying and germinating a variety of plants, including tomatoes, strawberries, pimentos and carnation flowers. The technology has also been transferred to clean vegetable growers in key regions in Hanoi and Lam Dong Province.
Concerns in promoting the development of biology
According to Prof Dr Thach, biology is related to medical care and agriculture sectors. Therefore, the establishment of the Vietnam Biology Association plays an important role in the application of scientific research and advanced technologies in agriculture. However, at the moment, the Vietnam Biology Association as well as most of other associations are operating based on their passion for science and without any financial assistance. Therefore, he supposed the state should encourage them by ordering scientific products and assigning them with specific tasks to create sources of revenue./.
By Quynh Nga
Đăng ký: VietNam News
