RESEARCH RESULTS ON PLUS TREE SELECTION OF STAR ANISE (Illicium verum Hook) IN THAI NGUYÊN PROVINCE.

Abstract

Star anise (Illicium verum Hook.f) is a special tree with high economic value, primarily due to its essential oil, which is an important export product. Thai Nguyen) (old Bac Kan) province has identified star anise as a key species for sustainable forestry development, contributing significantly to local livelihoods. By 2022, the total cultivation area in the province reached 3,576.84 hectares. However, a major challenge in its cultivation is the use of seedlings with unclear origins and low quality, which are not derived from plus trees. To address this, researchers evaluated 100 potential star anise trees and selected 80 as plus trees based on superior traits. These were located in Hiep Luc Commune (22 trees); Vinh Thong Commune (32 trees); and Yen Binh Commune (26 trees). The plus trees, aged 15 to 29 years, showed significant advantages over the forest average in key metrics such as diameter at breast height (14.2 - 32.0 cm, exceeding the average by 10.5 to 67.7%), total height (7.0 - 14.0 m), canopy diameter (3.5 - 6.0 m), fruit yield (80 - 140 kg/ year), and essential oil content (8.08 - 9.36%, exceeding the average by 11.14 to 30.21%). Evaluation scores ranged from 26 to 29 out of 30 points, confirming their suitability as a high-quality seed source for development of star anise plantations in Thai Nguyen province.