An article from www.agricultureinformation.com (Indian network)

[Dinh xuan Ba]

Mr. Truong Thanh Khoan – inducer to create agarwood using ant juice
Invents inducer to create world’s precious wood agarwood using ant juice
http://www.agricultureinformation.com/postings/mr-truong-thanh-khoa...  

Mr. Truong Thanh Khoan, a Vietnamese farmer holds expertise in identifying natural agarwood in dense and deep forests. Most part of his life he has been agarwood dealer. His experience and knowledge about this rare wood grew so much that he took another step of inventing inducement to produce agarwood! He shares, “The inducer is having a key ingredient ant juice that when injected in aquilaria trees, it creates agarwood. Hence it is referred as ‘Ant-processed Inducer (ApI)’ for creating agarwood.”
In 2010, at Agarwood conference in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Mr. Khoan met Professor Dinh Xuan Ba, specialist in agarwood. At that moment the Mr. Khoan was still working on his invention. Later the two teamed to give Ant-processed Inducer (ApI) more structured study.

It is a very risky career to identify agarwood but this precious wood that costs more than gold in International market is passion for Mr. Khoan. “In 2000 I started raising aquilaria tree in my village. Next in 2009 I bought an inducement from a Vietnamese company called Tram Huong Viet and tested on my trees but got no result. So I decided to return to the forest to study it in detail,” he says, “I discovered a species of green ant (nesting in aquilaria tree) that has the ability of biological stimulation for agarwood formation.” Mr. Khoan started to study living habits of green ant in order to domesticate it. Later he created appropriate conditions in ant nest as required for ants’ survival. Green ants produce ant juice that is a key component of ApI. The green ant juice in ApI stimulates the process of agarwood formation in aquilaria tree.
Explaining further Prof. Ba says, “Agarwood created by artificial inducement is called as Cultivated Agarwood or Induced Agarwood. Artificial inducement technique (or Agarwood inducement) consists of two actions: to wound the aquilaria tree and to pour ApI into this injury. ApI augments the process of agarwood formation.” Quantity and quality of cultivated agarwood surrounding the injury depends on the composition of inducer and the method of transfusing inducer into the tree.

Mr. Khoan shares, “The aquilaria tree needs to be alive that is rooted in the soil when ApI is induced in it. After wounding, that is drilling in tree-trunk, we inject ApI into drilled hole. ApI needs to be shaken really well before use as ant juice settles down at the bottom. After 12-24 months a dark brown and fragrant resinous wood part is observed around injury sites, the quality of such cultivated Agarwood depends on the inducer to be applied.”
Agarwood is made from the wound of Aquilaria tree. In natural way, storm, fungi and insects make the wounds on aquilaria tree and injure it. From that wound, the tree defenses itself to create agarwood. In cultivated agarwood, ApI does the same thing, but its key ingredient ant juice stimulates the tree to create agarwood.
Difference between induced agarwood and natural agarwood is price. “Natural agarwood is valued in (few millions) tens of thousands of US dollar/kg whereas induced agarwood is sold around (few hundred)several tens of dollar/kg. Natural agarwood is extremely rare to find now. Agarwood has wide applications hence its’ demand is always high. To fill in the demand induced agarwood too fetches good prices,” shares Prof. Ba.
Curious to know how ant oil is produced, Mr. Khoan says, “I have ant nests in my farm where I raise these green ants. There are more than 12 ant nests right now.” In one liter ApI there is only 0.1 liter of ant juice (1/10) rest are other ingredients like growth regulator, growth stimulate, catalysts, solvent, sugar, and molasses but no inorganic acid. Induced agarwood made from ApI is perfectly safe for human usage. Prof. Ba has tested the ApI and all its ingredients are natural elements.
Process of agarwood cultivation in aquilaria tree depends on different factors like age of tree, number of times inducer injected, seasonal variation, environmental variation and genetic variation of aquilaria trees. Prof. Ba advices, “Tree should be minimum (one) ten year old for injecting the inducer. Yearly twice ApI must be injected in the wounds for best results.” Older tree and longer injected time creates better aroma. “Right technique and sources of aquilaria trees is most crucial when cultivating agarwood,” he adds.
Citing the reason on source of aquilaria tree Prof. Ba says, “These days there are many kinds of induced stuff (from China and Malaysia) so farmer might get confused easily if not careful. Not all aquilaria trees produce agarwood, only approximately 10% of wild mature aquilaria tree (from the age of 20 years onwards and with above 40 cm diameter at breast height ) can produce agarwood.” Techniques of inducing ApI includes how to drill the tree, depth of the drill, ApI quantity to be injected into the wound, how to check if agarwood is being formed inside the tree or not and so on.
Aquilaria tree needs to be cut down to chip out the agarwood inside it. “The trunk should be left behind so that the roots are alive, we still can raise another tree from the root. After 3 or 4 trees from same root it contains good capacity to produce high quality of agarwood,” says Mr. Khoan.
Mr. Khoan has started selling induced agarwood within the country and also in neighboring countries like Laos, Thailand, Cambodia (and Singapore) etc. “Induced agarwood has good aroma close to the natural agarwood. We are trying to get internationally certification for ApI,” informs Prof. Ba. Plans are to sell ApI worldwide. Packing of ApI and delivery shall be made as per buyer’s request.
On 9th June 2014, The National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam (under The Ministry of Science and Technology) gave Mr. Truong Thanh Khoan a patent number 12835 about Inducement method on Aquilaria trees for creating cultivated Agarwood. He has received many prestigious awards for his invention.
Mr. Truong Thanh Khoan was a farmer and trader known to handful of people but his focus, ability to understand nature and drive to innovate in his subject excellence has turned him into one of the billionaires in Vietnam.
Professor Dinh Xuan Ba founded Secoin Corporation, one of the first liability limited companies of Vietnam. Company’s agroforestry division (presently is SECOIN Applied Biotech Center) aim at answering to the following question: How to develop Vietnamese Agarwood products for Wellness, Poverty alleviation and Biodiversity conservation. Prof. Ba and his team gives presentation on Vietnamese Agarwood across the globe.
Contact details –
Mr. Truong Thanh Khoan
No. 3478, Phu Lam 3 hamlet, Phu Son commune, Tan Phu district, Dong Nai province, Vietnam.
Email – [e-mail]   
Dinh xuan Ba, Director of SECOIN Applied Biotech Center (SECOIN ABC)
59 Hang Chuoi street, Hai Ba Trung district, Hanoi, Vietnam
E-mail: [e-mail] , [e-mail] 
Agarwood site: https://agarwood.ning.com/ ;

AgricultureInformation.com >ARTICLES > Mr. Truong Thanh Khoan – inducer to create agarwood using ant juice