The project "Seed Armor" by author Thach Hoang Anh (student of Can Tho University) is in the top 10 authors and groups of authors entering the final round of the Mekong Initiative Competition 2024. The competition is one of the activities of the 2nd Mekong Delta Startup Forum - 2024.
Hoang Anh's goal is to create a seed "armor" that provides adequate nutrients, ensuring the best growth and development conditions for seedlings. The product is compact in size, easy to transport and requires little care. In particular, the product is also low cost, and can take advantage of locally available raw materials.
Hoang Anh chose coffee grounds as a growing medium because this waste product, after being deacidified, will be safe for seeds, provide enough nutrients for plants to grow in the early stages, and especially the smell of coffee will repel animals that damage young plants.
"Over 80% of the armored seeds germinated and grew well. Meanwhile, the area of planting seedlings in the nursery only survived 65%. Developing forests with the new method also saves on care and protection costs" - Hoang Anh informed.
It is known that since high school, the male student has been nurturing the idea of finding solutions to protect the environment, especially in the face of the fact that the area of mangrove forests in our country is increasingly shrinking.
Through the process of research and study, in 2021, Hoang Anh cooperated with businesses and local authorities to pilot the project "Seed Armor" in the mangrove forest area of Long Tri Islet (Tra Vinh City), My Long Nam Commune (Cau Ngang District, Tra Vinh Province). At this time, the product was put into pilot incubation of water fern seeds.
The product is suitable for the natural conditions of this land, even growing faster than the normal planting method in mangrove forests. The seed germination test rate achieved high results (9/10). The product won second prize in the Science and Technology Innovation Contest for high school students in Tra Vinh province in 2022.
“The seed armor uses smart slow-release technology to form 2 layers to protect the seeds. When applied to the soil, with enough moisture, the fertilizer slowly absorbs moisture inside, the absorbed moisture will gradually dissolve and penetrate the membrane into the root area of the plant, the seeds that need to be planted" - Hoang Anh shared about the product's operating mechanism.
Having the opportunity to approach the product "Seed Armor" when participating in the Forum, Mr. Ho Duc Tham - an environmental researcher - recognized that the product is quite unique, associated with forest protection in the context of climate change.
"We hope that many people will know about your products through this contest, contributing more solutions to promote the value of local resources and promote the startup movement in the Mekong Delta," said Mr. Tham.
According to the Organizing Committee of the competition, the projects entering the Final Round this year have brought richness in both fields and expertise, from digital transformation solutions, green transformation, to initiatives applying science and technology, processing indigenous resources and solutions to minimize environmental impacts. The final results will be announced at the plenary session of the 2nd Mekong Delta Startup Forum - 2024, on the morning of November 16.
