TOP-5 tips, how you can fail at the cultivation of paulownia

Video interview about paulownia that was published at FarmerScan aroused interest and active discussion among subscribers.

On the basis of the most popular questions, farmerscam.com has prepared the top 5 dud tips on growing a wondertree. In this article you will find out what you definitely DO NOT need to do when investing in this business.

To buy from the first comer

There is a wide range of ads for the sale of paulownia seed and seedlings in the Internet. There are also offers from suspicious companies or individual persons, whose goal is to earn money on a trustful client. Such ads attract with price and description of planting material.

A characteristic feature of such entrepreneurs is that they do not have their own website, and advertising periodically disappears and reappears on free bulletin boards. In addition to advertisement messages, there are videos on Youtube. There are also cases of surveying on other plantations. Oleksandr Opanasiuk, General Director of "Paulownia Group Ukraine", told about one such situation for the representatives of the website FarmerScan:

“In Lviv Oblast, near Drohobych, there is a plantation of Paulownia Clone In Vitro 112®. It was recently discovered that this field is used in "Paulownia Zahid" promo videos, where the experts say that this is their clone. When the representatives of this company show the trees, they claim that this is Paulownia Nordis, thereby misinforming people.”

The director of "Paulownia Group Ukraine" also reported that this is not an isolated case. Taking into account the current popularity of paulownia, "competitors" appear regularly. When working with such vendors, problems arise everywhere, from “dummy” seedlings to the documentation.

“We are not afraid of competition, but it must be fair,” concluded Oleksandr Opanasiuk.

To plant paulownia void of documents

A tree without a certificate will be smuggled in the best case. In worst one, it’s not at all what the money was paid for.

Buying seedlings void of documents, whether it be imported goods or Ukrainian clones, you risk to buy a tree with completely other characteristics.

Selling this plant void of documents, people violate the laws of Ukraine, due to the fact that only the variety "Paulownia Clone In Vitro 112" is registered in the State Register of Seed Subjects.

In an official request, the experts of the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection reported that, according to Article 38 of the Law of Ukraine “On Protection of Rights on Plant Varieties”, the distribution of varieties that are not in the above-mentioned registry, is prohibited if it concerns industrial wood. In addition, for such actions you can get a penalty: 85 UAH for individual persons and 340 UAH – for officials.

“We control the seeds and seedlings, especially, from where they were brought and in what quantity. This year, the moratorium on inspections was lifted and we can check, whether the sort is spreading properly and how it was delivered”, said Anatolii Strykhar, a press centre specialist of the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection.

In addition, the purchase of seedlings without documents can cause problems in the process of selling and exporting wood.

“Export of industrial wood round timbers is prohibited. The wood can be sold and exported only in the form of products, if you have all the necessary documents. First of all, the certificate of origin of wood is necessary. The owner of this wood (paulownia) receives a certificate of origin after submitting documents on its origin. This wood can only be exported with certification. It is also necessary to have a package of documents to sell it on the territory of Ukraine”, said Valentyn Kolechkyn, a press centre expert of the State Forest Resources Agency of Ukraine.

You can check out seedlings and sellers in the State Register of Seed Growing and Nursery Culture Subjects for 2018 by clicking on the link or by visiting the website of the Ukrainian Institute for Plant Variety Examination

To grow decorative paulownia instead of technical

Paulownia is recognized as the fastest growing tree in the world, but various plant species differ by their growth rate. If it takes 5-8 years to get wood from a technical type, for example, it will take 12-15 years to achieve the same result of tomentous paulownia. It is a fast growth rate for wood, in commercial terms such a difference in terms is a huge minus.

In addition to the time frames, it is worth considering the technical characteristics of wood. The value of the technical type is the quality of wood, which is used in the construction and furniture industries.

To plant paulownia tree seeds

This method of growing attracts both beginners and more experienced farmers with relatively cheap cost and simplicity. Although, tree forms more than 20 million seeds, but, as a rule, in our climatic conditions, they have no chance of a successful overwintering. Imported seeds may be of poor quality, so there is a risk that these seeds will not grow.

To ignore technologic recommendations

The compliance with the recommendations of experts during the process of establishing the plantation is the key to successful growing of paulownia. The basic rules and tips regarding soil selection, growing conditions and protection systems can be found in the article “From farmer to planter: Paulownia is a new direction in agribusiness”. Detailed recommendations and technological maps are developed individually and are based on the conditions of a particular farm.

It is possible to make money on paulownia, but you should make sure that:

1. the seedlings are listed in the State Register of Plant Varieties in Ukraine;

2. certificate of origin is provided for the products;

3. there are documents that confirm the declared characteristics of the species;

4. there is an opportunity to see the real plantings – demonstration areas or client plantations;

5. there is a project on the demonstration area that confirms the fact of landing of the declared species.