The genus Cinnamomum

Figure 6.2 A 15-year old plantation of C. cassia.
Chinese Cassia 159
annual rainfall of 1500 mm (2500–3000 mm in South Vietnam). The crop needs
acidic soil (pH: 4.5–5.5) and prefers undulating hills. The root system is deep and
strong (Fig. 6.2).
Planting and Husbandry
Cassia cinnamon is usually grown from seeds, but can be grown from cuttings also.
However, cassia plants grown from cuttings are not good, as the bark of such trees is
not thick and essential oil contents in leaves and barks are less. Ripe fruits from mother
trees producing thick bark of good aroma should be selected for propagation. The
harvesting cycle of cassia cinnamon is 20 years in Vietnam and that is divided into two
main periods (Khoi, 1991):
Basic planting period: ten years from planting.
Harvest period: ten years later.
Basic planting periods of ten years are divided into:
Young tree planting period (growing seedlings).
Forest growing period – establishing the ‘cassia forest’.
Forest care period.
Harvesting period is divided into:
Fist prune: after 10 years, adjustment of tree density at 1000–1250 trees/ha.
Second prune: after 15 years, stable density after pruning to harvest is over 600–625 trees/ha.
The details and norms of the planting technique are shown in Table 6.1.