The Council of Agriculture’s Miaoli County agricultural research and extension station, in cooperation with National Chung Hsing University, has produced the first Taiwan-planted seedless Kyoho grapes.
The Kyoho grape, known for its large size, is a cross between the Ishihara and Centennial grape varieties and was first produced in Japan in 1937.
According to the station’s researcher Liu Yun-tsung (劉雲聰), 60 percent of Kyoho grapes in Japan are seedless, but the technique and the amount of pesticides used on the grapes planted in Taiwan were unable to render them seedless.
Photo courtesy of the Miaoli District Agricultural Research and Extension Station.
After three years of joint research with the university, the team was finally able to produce seedless Kyoho grapes grown in Taiwan, Liu said, adding that this year the station planted an experimental crop on a 293.4 ping (969.9m2) plot of land which yielded a harvest of 200kg.
“This is the first time that Taiwan has been able to produce a steady amount of seedless Kyoho grapes,” Liu said.
The key was to use gibberellic acid, a hormone found in plants, and streptomycin, an antibiotic drug, when the grapes are flowering, Liu said, adding that the process causes 95 percent of the grapes to become seedless.
A single grape from a crop harvested in summer could weigh between 9 and 14g, and the sweetness could reach as high as 18 degrees brix, the unit used to measure the sugar of an aqueous solution, Liu said.
“We currently estimate that we can double the production and we have already published the technique in agricultural journals and magazines for farmers to use free of charge,” Liu said.
The seedless Taiwan-grown Kyoho grapes will be sold for between NT$200 and NT$500 per kilo, Liu said, adding that two bunches of Japanese Kyoho seedless grapes usually cost over NT$1,000.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS