Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development Collaboration for Agriculture & Rural Development Report Project VIE:032/05 Sustainable and profitable development of acacia plantations for sawlog production in Vietnam Acacia Silviculture Extension Workshop 10th-12th March 2008 (Hue Province) List of Participants The participants were invited by the Hue Provincial Forestry Office Twenty-five participants attended the course They included extension officers, forestry personnel (public and private), and sawmill employees All the participants were male Name NGUYEN HUU HUY NGUYEN DUC HUY VUONG QUANG HOANG TRAN VAN NGOC HUY HOANG PHUOC TOAN HUYNH TU VAN TIEN HUNG NGUYEN THANH VO LONG QUAN TRAN QUANG PHU NGUYEN THAI DUY HOANG HUU BANG TRAN VAN MINH VO HUU SANG NGUYEN VAN LUYEN NGUYEN QUANG THUONG PHAN VAN HUYNH HO GAP PHAM CANH LE DINH NGO HOANG HAI PHAM HO HAI LONG LE PHAN LE VAN THIEN NGUYEN XUAN DINH Organisation Forest Service Department of Thua Thien Hue Forest Service Department of Thua Thien Hue Management Board of Sandy Forest Management Board of Sandy Forest Management Board of JBIC Project Management Board of Bo River Management Board of Huong River Management Board of A Luoi Protection Plantations Forest Product Company 1-5 Joint Stock Company 1-5 Joint Stock Company 1-5 Joint Stock Company Management Board of North-Hai Van Protection Plantations Management Board of Nan Dong Protection Plantations Management Board of Huong Thuy Protec Plantations Chaiyo Company Thua Thien Hue Centre for Agriculture and Forest Extension Thua Thien Hue Centre for Agriculture and Forest Extension Phu Loc Forest Company Truc Thu Forest company Tien Phong Forest Company Huong Giang Wood Processing Company Huong Giang Wood Processing Company Phong Dien Forest Company Quang Tri Centre for Agriculture and Forest extention Programme The Extension Workshop was conducted over a three-day period from 10th-12th March The full programme is summarised in Appendix There are four other Appendices: Appendix contains the Course Notes; Appendices and contain notes that refer to the silvicultural trials established at Dong Ha and Dong Hoi These appendices were translated into Vietnamese Appendices contains notes that refer to the seed orchards and tree improvement trials established at Dong Ha (available in Vietnamese only) These Appendices were circulated to participants at the start of the course Day Monday 10th March Hue and around Hue The two FSIV (Mr Phi Hong Hai and Mr Dang Thinh Trieu) and one CSIRO (Dr Chris Beadle) staff delivering the course were welcomed at the Hue Forestry Office by Mr Chi Cuc Truong, the Director of the Hue Provincial Forestry Service The participants were formally welcomed by Mr Le Van Hoa, the Deputy Director (Plate 1) Chris Beadle also welcomed them on behalf of the Vietnamese and Australian staff working on the CARD project The morning programme consisted of four activities, the afternoon one activity Two of the morning activities were at demonstration sites (Stands and 2) that had first been prepared in November 2006 for the purposes of this Extension Workshop Additional work was done on these sites in the intervening period They are part of a network of four CARD demonstration sites close to Hue city (Table 1) A third, 10-month-old stand (Stand 3) was also used for the workshop The fourth morning activity was at a small sawmill owned by Mr Nguyen Bo The afternoon activity was at a large integrated sawmill and furnituremaking company (Huong Giang [Perfume River] Wood Processing Company) Stand 3: Form pruning (Mr Trieu) This stand was located about 400 m from Stand and was age 10 months old It was selected the day before the course and used to demonstrate: • Tools that can be used for pruning: saws, shears, secateurs; • Essential rules when pruning branches: o Live branches; o Excise at edge of root collar (role of root collar in occlusion of branches); o Avoid all damage to bark; undercutting large branches before pruning can eliminate bark tearing • Selecting branches for form pruning; • When to use tip pruning and how to apply it The participants then spent 30 minutes practising form pruning and familiarising themselves with the use of the various tools (Plates 2-4) Stand 2: Singling and 1st-lift pruning (Mr Trieu) • Singling and the consequences of not singling (demonstrated at this stand) (Plate 5); • 1st-lift pruning to m height (Plate 6) The participants then spent 30 minutes practising 1st-lift pruning Stand 1: 2nd-lift pruning, tree size and basal area Pruning and wood quality (Mr Trieu) • 2nd-lift pruning to m height; • The relationship between stand density, tree size and basal area; • Decay entry, knotty and knot-free (clear) wood Table 1: List of demonstration trials in Hue Province, Central Vietnam The maximum diameter at breast height was estimated on 10th March 2008 Site Site (Stand 1*) Site Site (Stand 2*) Thuy Phu, Huong Tra, 20 km S of Hue Acacia hybrid 0.2 Huong Tho, Huong Tra, 12 km W of Hue Acacia hybrid 0.2 Dec 2004 m × 2.5 m# 1R Pinus merkusii Phu Bai, Huong Thuy, 25 km S of Hue Acacia hybrid 0.2 Dec 2004 m × 2.5 m 1R Pinus merkusii Huong Tho, Huong Tra, 12 km W of Hue Acacia hybrid 0.2 Oct 2005 3m×3m 2R A mangium Granite 100 g 10:10:5 NPK in hole 8-9 cm Granite 100 g 10:10:5 NPK in hole 6.5-7.5 cm Granite 100 g 10:10:5 NPK in hole No No Nov 2006 Form pruning No No Demonstrated 1st-lift pruning Nov 2006 to 2-2.5 Nov 2006 to 2.0- 2.5 m m 2nd-lift pruning Nov 2007 to m Location Species Area Date planted Spacing Rotation Previous vegetation Soil type Fertiliser at planting Maximum diameter at 1.3 m Sept 2006 Singling Ownership Other comments Forest Enterprise Forest Enterprise Weeded Forest Enterprise Less fertile – may be water stress Mar 2008 to 2.0 m Forest Enterprise Weeded *Stands and as referred to in the Extension Course # Stocking currently 1000-1200 stems ha-1 Plate 1: Mr Le Van Hoa, the Deputy Director Hue Provincial Forestry Service welcoming participants to the Extension Course Plate 2: Mr Trieu demonstrates the tools that can be used for pruning at Stand Plate 3: A participant practises pruning a large branch with a saw at Stand Plate 4: Mr Trieu explains how to select branches for form pruning at Stand Plate 5: Participants examine the consequences of not singling at Stand Plate 6: A participant practises lift pruning with shears at Stand General Discussion The participants made the following points during the discussion (Plate 7): • What they had seen was a convincing demonstration of improved practice; • Most of the participants oversee plantations that receive slash pruning and unstructured thinning; • For many it was the first time they had seen pruning shears; • It is difficult to purchase the right tools; • Wood quality is not a variable that gets considered; • Pruned stems not attract a price premium; • Demonstration trials are required throughout the province to convince farmers that improved practices can deliver benefits It was unclear how this could be resourced Plate 7: A participant discusses the management of pruned stands at Stand Plate 8: Mr Trieu explains the sawmill system at Mr Nguyen Bo’s small sawmill Mr Nguyen Bo’s small sawmill (Mr Bo was unable to be present) (Mr Trieu) • Log sizes processed and prices paid at this mill; • The sawmill system (Plate 8); • Variation in log quality Perfume River Wood Processing Company (company staff) (Plates 9, 10) Mr Hiep, the Director welcomed the participants and outlined the main features of the mill • Mr Long (a participant on the course) and Mr Phau showed us round; • Operating for five years, turnover $700,000, 300 employees, export only (mainly to France); • Log purchasing (mainly acacia hybrid and A mangium) highly competitive (the company owns 100 plantation); • 4000 m3 throughput; average price paid 1.2M Dong m-3; log size must be 12 cm diameter minimum in the centre; • Break-even recovery of sawn timber was 58%; • “Brittleheart” more prevalent in A mangium than acacia hybrid A mangium cut to thinner boards; • Oven-drying at 50 ºC for 16 days; powered by waste wood (shavings etc) The participants were able to see all aspects of the operation: rough sawing, drying, measuring and cutting piece sizes; final shaping, planing and form work; drilling, assembly and finishing Plate 9: Participants observe a mill employee using a template to maximise the recovery of wood for furniture parts Plate 10: Participants examine the assembly of components for the export outdoor furniture market (mainly to France) Day Tuesday 11th March Dong Ha Dong Ha FSIV station is a major centre in Vietnam for tree improvement experiments These were the main feature of the second day programme The other activity was a visit to a sustainability trial that has just been established as part of the CARD project Acacia mangium and A auriculiformis seed production areas (SPAs) (Mr Hai/Mr Dinh) • Yield is 20-30 kg seed per 2-3 of the SPA; • Vietnam is very short of acacia seed; currently importing large quantities from Australia; interestingly, Australian seed is often preferred by growers even though the Vietnamese improved seed is superior; • Flowering of A auriculiformis generally poor; • Ten per cent is hybrid seed but this cannot be recognised; • The widespread use of unimproved seed was discussed There was a lack of understanding amongst growers of the availability and advantages of improved stock Acacia auriculiformis genetic gain trial (Mr Hai) • The real genetic gain in stem volume at age four years is 38% for seedling seed orchard elite seed and 32% for seed production area elite seed, relative to natural provenance seed; • The worst performing stock was that raised from a Vietnamese commercial seed source, with 41% lower stem volume than the natural provenance seed at age four years (related to inbreeding and selection of trees with poor form in the commercial seed production areas); • Select seedling seed orchard seed had the best rates of growth at age four years and significant improvements in form (forking and stem straightness, characteristics essential for sawlog production) (Plate 11) Acacia mangium genetic gain trial (includes A hybrid clones) (Mr Hai) • A mangium growing faster than A hybrid on this site at age years; • A mangium is more wind stable than A hybrid; • Seedling seed orchard seed is also the best performing at this site; • On high rainfall sites (>2000 mm), A hybrid is more susceptible to disease Acacia crassicarpa Seedling Seed Orchard (Mr Hai) • There are fundamental problems getting this species to set seed This may be linked to flowering occurring during the rainy season though the true nature of the problem is not resolved; • Because of these problems, at least 150 of the top families in this SSO will be grafted This is being done so that more seed orchards of A crassicarpa can be established in Vietnam • The first intention is to establishing another SSO in Hue province A suitable site is being sought Plate 11: Mr Hai explains the benefits to be gained from using selected seed orchard seed at the A auriculiformis genetic gain trial at Dong Ha Plate 12: Mr Trieu describes the treatments that are being used in the new CARD Sustainability Trial that was established in December 2007 at Dong Ha Sustainability trial (Mr Trieu) • The trial was planted in early December 2007 (Plate 12) Since planting it has been very cold and there has not been much growth (90% but in patches no better than 80% Replanting is in progress • The ramets were inserted into planting holes that had been prepared in the following way: o A 40 × 40 × 40 cm volume of soil was dug from the ground The bottom 15 – 20 cm was returned and the measured amount of fertiliser added and mixed thoroughly in this layer It was then covered by about a cm layer of soil This isolates the planted ramet from direct contact with the fertiliser The ramet is planted in the top 15 cm of soil o The large planting hole may be advantageous for root development, and for wider distribution of the fertiliser It may also be useful for capturing and storing more water around the ramet at dry sites, as at Dong Ha • The levels of P applied were equivalent to 16 and 32 kg ha-1 • No pre-planting weed control was undertaken because there were no weeds present There is now a broad weed spectrum that includes a lot of shrubby species (Mr Huong indicated later that these would be slashed before glyphosate was applied: glyphosate is ineffective against mature shrubby vegetation but should control resprouting young leaves after slashing.) General Discussion The participants raised the following issues during the discussion: • The relative benefits of burning v slash retention, including how each affects nutrient supply; • The effects of burning on regeneration of acacia wildings; • Chemical v manual weed control and the environment; • The potential for fertiliser at planting to kill seedlings Day Wednesday 12th March Dong Hoi The primary content of the morning programme was a visit to a thinning trial established in June 2006 by the CARD Project (Plates 13, 14) Significant responses to thinning were observed 12 months after thinning This is one of the best examples in Vietnam of an Acacia plantation containing trees of quite uniform size and high levels of stem straightness The subjects covered are detailed in the programme (Appendix 2) Plate 13: Mr Trieu teaches participants the rules that must be followed when thinning stands in the Block 600 stems ha-1 treatment at the CARD Thinning Trial in Dong Hoi Plate 14: Course participants in the Block 300 stems ha-1 treatment at the CARD Thinning Trial in Dong Hoi Plate 15: Pinus merkusii (foreground) and Pinus caribea (background) of the same age in a tree improvement trial at Dong Hoi Plate 16: A collar rot attacking and killing P caribea in the Dong Hoi trial General Discussion The participants made the following points during the discussion: • Thinning strategy was an important consideration for ensuring that tree growth rates and size were managed for the required end product; • Thinning intensity may have effects on stem shape; • A standard system was required for scoring stem shape (a system for scoring form was presented as part of the Extension Course notes (Appendix 2) • Stocking up to 4000 stems ha-1 which often occurs in Vietnam is not necessary (the correct stocking at establishment remains uncertain but should probably be between 1000 [4 m × m] and 1667 [3 m × m] stems ha-1) A second activity was a short visit to an area used for tree improvement trials: • Eucalypt hybrid trial – various hybrid combinations are being tested; • Pinus caribea and Pinus merkusii trials: o Growth rates of P caribea far exceed those of P merkusii (the latter grown for high resin content) (Plate 15); o P caribea quite severely affected by collar rot leading to eventual tree death (Plate 16) Conclusion Mr Long (Perfume River Wood processing Company), one of the participants gave a vote of thanks on their behalf He said that the main value had been in the large amount of new information that had been introduced to them and discussed He was aware that some of the participants were now ready to go back to plantations for which they were responsible and start testing some of the techniques that they had learnt Dr Chris, Mr Hai and Mr Trieu then thanked the participants for their attention and willingness to participate in an open discussion of the subjects covered during the course It was hoped that contact could be maintained in the future so that new information could be sent to them when it became available Mr Hai encouraged them to approach FSIV if they had particular questions that they wanted to raise Comment Mr Huy, a professional forester at the Provincial Forestry Service in Hue was asked to comment on the course content He indicated that the course materials had been fine for this audience as it was made up entirely of participants with at least some professional training in an aspect of forestry If farmers had been the audience it would have been difficult for them to understand a lot of the information He suggested the production of simple visual aids that could be used to illustrate the main points that we wanted to impart to participants when they were being spoken to in the field 10 ... (shavings etc) The participants were able to see all aspects of the operation: rough sawing, drying, measuring and cutting piece sizes; final shaping, planing and form work; drilling, assembly and. .. tip pruning and how to apply it The participants then spent 30 minutes practising form pruning and familiarising themselves with the use of the various tools (Plates 2-4) Stand 2: Singling and 1st-lift... Department of Thua Thien Hue Forest Service Department of Thua Thien Hue Management Board of Sandy Forest Management Board of Sandy Forest Management Board of JBIC Project Management Board of Bo River