Orchid with aromatic flavour By Rintos Mail
LAST year, Malaysia announced it wanted to introduce vanilla as a new commodity in view of the high demand and wide market for this orchid-derived by-product.
QUARANTINE: Vanilla vines quarantined in the Duta Bistari’s net shade. Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, the then Agriculture and Agro Based Industries Minister, said the crop had the agricultural criteria underlined in the Ninth Malaysia Plan, given its high added commercial value and bio-technology potential whose exploitation would need the active involvement of farmers and skilled workers. According to him, research by Malaysian Agriculture Research and Development Institute (Mardi) in 1992 had shown that good quality vanilla beans could be produced in Malaysia. He said the ministry’s effort to introduce vanilla as a new crop was also to prevent Malaysia becoming too dependent on other commodities like rubber and oil palm.
In response, a local company, Duta Bistari Sdn Bhd, recently brought in the most important vanilla species of agricultural value from India. “I got interested during my two-week business trip to Vanuatu last year. They planted the same V planifolia from Mexico. “On my return, I tried to look for investors. Then, about two months ago, Duta Bistari Sdn Bhd agreed to start a nursery before going into downstream business,” said Duta Bistari farm and marketing manager, Tanny Lee.
VALUABLE: The important species from India at Duta Bistari’s net shade.
“Unfortunately, we could not bring in the species from Vanuatu because of transportation problem. But we managed to obtain the same good species from India,” he added.
Now, Duta Bistari has about 10,000 cuttings in its quarantine shade at Tinggian Demak in Petra Jaya. Those interested to plant this most important species and become the company’s contract farmers may contact Lee at 012 8834466. He said the company’s contract farmers would have a bright future as the owner, a prominent local corporate figure, is seriously looking into developing the vanilla industry in Sarawak. Aside from selling the cuttings, he revealed the company would have its own farm near the quarantine shade. “Some will be planted on poles under the built-up shade while some on trees in the nearby secondary forest. We have started some planting at the latter.”
Given that vanilla orchids normally grow in tropical forests, Sarawak has great potential to become a leading producer in the region. Lee said they were introducing a simple method of propagation — cutting without a polyethylene bag. “From what I learned in Vanuatu, the crop is usually grown with stem cuttings. If you can afford, cuttings with 10 to 12 internodes or one metre should be used as they flower sooner than shorter cuttings,” he added. However, Lee pointed out that the length of the cuttings had be adjusted according to the availability of planting materials and area. He said cuttings with fewer than five to six internodes or shorter than 60cm, should be avoided if planted in the open main field. Cuttings with fewer than four internodes — the shortest being recommended — could be used if planted under a tree shade.
Lee encouraged the use of coconut husks mixed with compost for planting. When planting the longer stems, lower two to three internodes to the ground and cover them with coconut husks mixed with compost. He said if there were no coconut husks and compost, the stem should be placed in a shallow trench about three to four cm deep and about 10cm wide. The evacuated soil is used to loosely fill this trench.
According to him, preparing the soil for prospective vanilla plantations must take into account the need to supply each vine with a support or stake for the vine to climb on. The supports can be non-living or living. “Most often used for vanilla are either plants already in the plantation or trees from original forest growth left during land clearance.” Lee said vanilla flourished in partial shade with about 50 per cent sunlight. Low branching trees with rough bark and small leaves are grown for this purpose.
Some of the trees now used include Glyricidia, Erythrina, Jatropha carcas, Plumeria alba and Casuarna equisetifolia. If the support selected is a legume, it will be able to enrich the soil.
Lee explained to facilitate training of the vines around the branching shoots, growth should be adjusted to let the vanilla branch out at a height of 120 to 150cm.He recommended planting vanilla at a spacing of one metre within the row and two metres between the rows to allow for a population of about 2,000 trees per acre.“In high density planting, one metre spacing has been used to plant around 4,000 vines per acre but after five years, pruning and spacing will be required.”
Lee said in the open field, the cuttings should be shaded with tall dry grass, palm fronds or other suitable materials. In dry soil, a light sprinkling of water helps to establish early cuttings.
It takes about four to eight weeks for the cuttings to strike roots and show initial signs of growth.
“Under proper care, the one metre cutting can produce a lot of new branches within a month. Some may even produce flower buds. We have one plant, a metre long, that produces buds about a month after planting,” he added.
Vanilla can also be planted as an inter-crop in coconut, rubber and cocoa plantations. These orchids can be recognised by their typical light green colour. The buds are said to normally open very early in the morning for pollination by bees and hummingbirds although there is no trace of the vanilla essence at this stage.
The flowers which are hermaphroditic (containing both male and female parts divided by a thin membrane to prevent self-pollination) will develop into little pods after being pollinated with each pod containing thousands of small black seeds. The pods are long and thin — very similar to the string beans but smaller in comparison.
Since the flower does not develop into a fruit unless it is pollinated, artificial pollination is needed in places where natural means are not available. It takes the pods about one month to mature and once fully developed, they are harvested and dried. The curing of the pods will produce the aroma so much loved and used throughout the world.
Since the vine has the tendency to grow upwards, every year after harvest, the farmers will push the vine downwards to keep it within hand’s reach. This process is said to increase the flowering capacity of the vanilla orchid which, as a huge vine, often exceeds 100 feet in length.
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