Sniffer dogs trained by National Pingtung University of Science and Technology sniffed out brown root rot disease in trees on Wednesday, a feat their trainer described as globally unprecedented.
Brown root rot disease, caused by Phellinus noxius, was reported to be affecting trees in Chungshan Park (中山公園) in Pingtung County, and park officials asked the university to use its trained dogs to help find out exactly how many trees were infected.
Dog trainer Chi Wei-lien (祁偉廉) brought two beagles to the park and led them around each tree.
Photo: CNA
When the dogs detected a sick tree, they sat down on the infected roots and waited for Chi to give them a treat as a reward.
“Within just six seconds, the dogs were able to sniff out the location of the brown root rot,” Chi said, adding that he had not heard of dogs anywhere else in the world able to do that.
The idea to train the dogs came from the use of canines by truffle hunters. From this, Chi inferred that every type of fungus, including Phellinus noxius, has its own distinct scent. He then started training three beagle bitches, aged about five, using Phellinus noxius grown in the lab.
Energy and a fondness for eating are the top requirements when selecting dogs for the task, he said.
With more than 1,000 trees in the park, Chi said he expected it to take about three days to finish examining all of them.
Pingtung County Commissioner Tsao Chi-hung (曹啟鴻) also visited the park to learn about the extent of the infection. Sick trees must be cut down to prevent them from falling over and hurting people, he said.
Officials from the county’s Public Works Department said they are hopeful the dogs will identify the infected trees before the disease runs rampant in the park.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday voiced dissatisfaction with the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans- Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), whose latest meeting, concluded earlier the same day, appeared not to address the country’s application. In a statement, MOFA said the CPTPP commission had "once again failed to fairly process Taiwan’s application," attributing the inaction to the bloc’s "succumbing to political pressure," without elaborating. Taiwan submitted its CPTPP application under the name "Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu" on Sept. 22, 2021 -- less than a week after China
THE GOOD WORD: More than 100 colleges on both sides of the Pacific will work together to bring students to Taiwan so they can learn Mandarin where it is spoken A total of 102 universities from Taiwan and the US are collaborating in a push to promote Taiwan as the first-choice place to learn Mandarin, with seven Mandarin learning centers stood up in the US to train and support teachers, the Foundation for International Cooperation in Higher Education of Taiwan (FICHET) said. At the annual convention of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages held over the weekend in New Orleans, Louisiana, a Taiwan Pavilion was jointly run by 17 representative teams from the FICHET, the Overseas Community Affairs Council, the Steering Committee for the Test of Proficiency-Huayu, the
A home-style restaurant opened by a Taiwanese woman in Quezon City in Metro Manila has been featured in the first-ever Michelin Guide honoring exceptional restaurants in the Philippines. The restaurant, Fong Wei Wu (豐味屋), was one of 74 eateries to receive a “Michelin Selected” honor in the guide, while one restaurant received two Michelin stars, eight received one star and 25 were awarded a “Bib Gourmand.” The guide, which was limited to restaurants in Metro Manila and Cebu, was published on Oct. 30. In an interview, Feng Wei Wu’s owner and chef, Linda, said that as a restaurateur in her 60s, receiving an
MORE RETALIATION: China would adopt a long-term pressure strategy to prevent other countries or future prime ministers following in Sanae Takaichi’s steps, an academic said Taiwan should maintain communications with Japan, as Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is to lead a revision of security documents, Taiwanese academics said yesterday. Tensions have risen between Japan and China over remarks by Takaichi earlier this month that the use of force against Taiwan would constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan. Prospect Foundation president Lai I-chung (賴怡忠) yesterday said Takaichi’s stance regarding Taiwan is the same as past Japanese prime ministers, but her position is clearer than that of her predecessors Fumio Kishida and Shigeru Ishiba. Although Japan views a “Taiwan contingency” as a “survival-threatening situation,” which would allow its military to
RSS