In the following interview, Dr. Chen Min-syang, head of the Department of Tropical Fruit Trees at Fengshan, discusses the station's work and recent achievements. Excerpts follow.
FCR: How does the research in your department help to improve Taiwan's fruits?
Chen: We focus mainly on Taiwan's tropical fruits, particularly on developing and propagating new varieties and improving cultivation techniques. Our major goal is to stabilize the varieties and maximize quality before introducing these successful breeds and cultivation techniques to farmers through farmers' associations or research institutes.
For example, we study widely cultivated fruits such as pineapple, mango, lychee, papaya, wax apple, guava, passion fruit, star fruit, and Indian jujube. Our studies cover many angles, from virus and insect problems to agricultural labor allocation.
Pineapple, for instance, was once a major agricultural product, covering as much as 25,000 acres 15 years ago. Farm labor shortages, high wages, and the loss of a competitive edge, cut the amount of land planted in pineapples by more than half. The farmers lost interest in growing them, and pineapple farming gradually changed from an export-oriented endeavor into one oriented toward the domestic market. As a result, we had to shift from the study of cultivation techniques for increased production to the selection and cultivation of new breeds.
The department's work with wax apple and guava is worth special mention. New cultivation techniques led to the development of the "Black Pearl," which is a bigger, rosier, and sweeter wax apple. We were also able to move up the harvest season from April through July to as early as December. We also expanded the harvest season for the guava. It was originally harvested only from June to September, but there is now year-round production of a new breed introduced from Thailand.
Two types of Indian jujube are grafted together to produce a different maturation cycle and harvest time.
FCR: What other fruits have benefited from new breeding techniques?
Chen: We have successfully developed five improved papaya hybrids and have introduced two new varieties to Taiwan. We have also developed two mango hybrids and have introduced multiple cropping techniques for grapes in southern Taiwan to increase the number of harvests.
FCR: How does your department interact with local farmers?
Chen: The new cultivation techniques and new breeds that we develop first go through a trial cultivation by a selected group of farmers. We carefully evaluate every step. Only when the results are conclusively positive do we promote the new technique or breed to the farmers.
The Tainung No. 11 pineapple is a good example. After a successful trial cultivation, it was quickly selected and planted by Taiwan's farmers. They have even nicknamed it the "perfumed pineapple." And now that we have extended the harvest period for the wax apple from four months (April to July) to eight months (December to July), it can be harvested six times a year. The farmers are so pleased that there are now almost 25,000 acres planted in wax apples, compared to 1,600 acres before we introduced this new breed.
FCR: Have there been any recent breakthroughs in developing new breeds of fruit trees that are virus resistant?
Chen: We have been successful in breeding the Tainung No.5 papaya, which is resistant to the papaya ring spot virus, and the Tainung No.1 and No.2 mango trees. The trees produce more mangoes of better quality and are also resistant to anthracnose, a fungus disease that blackens the mango skin and hastens rotting.
Passive defense system—a Fengshan worker prunes a stand of fruit trees protected from birds by permeable nylon screens.
FCR: Does your department have working ties with other domestic and foreign agricultural centers or research institutes?
Chen: We coordinate with the Taiwan Agricultural Research Institute and work closely with Academia Sinica. Dr. Wang Po-jen of Academia Sinica has been working with us on the propagation of pineapple techniques and the fostering of virus resistant papaya progenies. An example of our international cooperation is our sharing of research results with Cornell University, including our work on papaya ring spot virus.
FCR: What are some of the research difficulties your department encounters?
Chen: We study tropical fruit trees, and unfortunately it takes a long time for these trees to grow. This means we need extended support for our budget and personnel. Because of the limited funds allocated to us by the Taiwan Provincial Government, we depend on long-term projects to sustain our operation. The uncertainty of funds has a great impact on our research goals and orientation. To some extent, the choice of projects is dependent on our budgetary support.
Staffing is also a problem. At present, we only have two people with doctorates, two with master's degrees, two with BAs, and four technicians—and they all have heavy work loads. Biotechnology is advancing so fast that we badly need more people in this field. If we had an independent fruit tree experiment station or institute, it would be a big help in easing some of our difficulties. It's a pity that in Taiwan we still don't have a horticulture institute, especially at a time when horticultural products are playing a role of increasing importance in our daily lives.