The Taichung City Government’s Bureau of Agriculture on Wednesday met with fruit farmers in -Dalishan (大梨山) to promote the use of hormone therapy as an alternative to pesticides in combating rising fruit fly populations on the mountain.
The Dalishan region is one of the nation’s foremost agricultural areas for the cultivation of tropical fruits, with the value of local products estimated at more NT$3 billion (US$93.12 million).
However, local farmers said that fruit flies have migrated from the plains to the mountain orchards over the past few years, severely damaging their operations.
Fruit flies pose a serious problem for farmers, as they lay eggs in ripe fruits and render them unmarketable, Heping District Council Deputy Chairman Lo Ching-yu (羅進玉) said, adding that the total area of peach orchards affected by fruit flies is “too large to be estimated.”
Lo said that agricultural officials had assisted farmers by selling them pesticides through a farmers’ association, but the measure had little effect, partly because the authorities and farmers could not agree on the source of the pests.
Agricultural officials said the infestation was caused by fertilizers that had been contaminated by the eggs of fruit flies, but local farmers said that the insects had adapted to spend the winter in Dalishan, Lo said, adding that the problem cannot be resolved until an agreement is reached.
Taichung Director of Agriculture Wang Jiun-shong (王俊雄) said that Wednesday’s meetings in Heping (和平) and Pingdeng (平等) districts were called to address the issues, adding that the Bureau of Agriculture plans to have its local district offices involved in its ongoing pest control operations.
Taichung’s water supply comes from Dalishan, and the city government is concerned that the use of pesticides and fertilizers by local farmers might pollute the city’s water supply, he added.
“Hopefully, hormone therapy, designed to sterilize male fruit flies, will curb the pests’ population and allow the city government to move forward in its project to transform the region into an environmentally friendly agricultural zone, while maintaining a safe water supply for Taichung residents,” Wang said.
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