Bonsai school up in I. Norte

BATAC CITY, Nov. 18 – The state-run Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) in this city is set to put up a Bonsai school that will offer artistic cultivation of dwarfed trees also known as ‘Bonsai’.

MMSU President Miriam E. Pascua said the trees to be propagated shall be sold commercially so that students could earn an income.

Set to start next year, the Bonsai school eyes an initial enrollee of up to 30 students.

The school will get fund support from the provincial government of Ilocos Norte through the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPAG) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos has expressed support to the project because of the bright prospects of bonsai plants in local and global markets.

The school will be placed under the College of Agriculture, Food and Sustainable Development (CAFSD), former College of Agriculture (CAF), under the supervision of Profs. Maura Luisa Gabriel and Joselito Rosario.

Bonsai or tray gardening, which originated in China some 2,000 years ago, is the art of growing trees and plants in a shallow clay pot.

A bonsai is not a genetically dwarfed plant but through skilled pruning, a bonsai raiser can create an aesthetic shape and the illusion of age.

Some species of Bonsai tree that can be found in Ilocos Norte particularly in Dungon-Dungon areas in Burgos town include agoho, camuning, tamarind, guava, duhat, bougainvillea, carmona, bugnay and kamatsile. (CHERRY JOY DISCAYA-GARMA)