An improved coffee borer beetle trap developed by the Council of Agriculture Tea Research and Extension Station could aid coffee growers in Nantou County’s Guosing Township (國姓).
The township is the largest coffee bean production area in the nation, with more than 200 hectares under cultivation.
Climate change has fueled northward migration of the beetles, which had previously remained largely in southern Taiwan, and the change is cutting into township residents’ profit margins.
Photo: Tung Chen-kuo, Taipei Times
More than 30 percent of coffee plants in the township are affected, the station said on Tuesday.
Fruit and raw beans eaten by the beetles create not only a net loss, but incur additional expenses as extra workers are needed clear the infected plants, the station said.
As the township has recently applied for product quality certification, locally produced coffee is subject to scrutiny and could not exceed a certain level of residual pesticide, the township said.
The station said its new version of the bug trap is cheaper than commercial models, as it has transferred the technology to producers, and is 20 percent more effective as the methanol and ethanol baits have been fine-tuned.
One fen (分) of land (969.92m2) could sustain between 120 and 150 coffee trees, and would need about 40 to 50 traps, station researcher Liu Chien-ju (劉千如) said.
Farmers could adjust the density of the traps depending on the amount of damage the beetles are causing to their crops, Liu said.
The township office yesterday said that it has set aside a NT$200,000 fund to subsidize 10 traps per farmer.
It urged farmers to collaborate on pest control to achieve the maximum effect.
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
About 4.2 million tourist arrivals were recorded in the first half of this year, a 10 percent increase from the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. The growth continues to be consistent, with the fourth quarter of this year expected to be the peak in Taiwan, the agency said, adding that it plans to promote Taiwan overseas via partnerships and major events. From January to June, 9.14 million international departures were recorded from Taiwan, an 11 percent increase from the same period last year, with 3.3 million headed for Japan, 1.52 million for China and 832,962 to South Korea,
SOVEREIGNTY: The rigs show that Beijing ‘rejects Taiwan’s jurisdiction’ by building in areas where Taipei demands permission to build or alter installations Chinese oil rigs have been sighted just 26 nautical miles (42km), from Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙島), posing a threat to Taiwan’s sovereignty if left unchallenged, a brief published by the Jamestown Foundation on Tuesday said. Pratas Island, 444km from Kaohsiung, is northeast of the South China Sea and houses a Taiwanese garrison. The brief, titled “Rigging the Game: PRC Oil Structures Encroach on Taiwan’s Pratas Island” — referring to the People’s Republic of China — analyzed photographs and said that Beijing’s tools to pressure Taiwan now include oil rigs. “Oil rigs now constitute part of Beijing’s
The Taiwan Experience Education Program (TEEP) has funded short-term internships in Taiwan for more than 4,500 young people from more than 40 countries since 2015, with the goal of attracting and retaining international talent, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. Fifty-five colleges launched 514 projects this year, including in fields such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, medicine and biotechnology, green energy, and sustainability, it said. The program provides research and practical internships in Taiwan for two to six months, and offers cultural exchange and networking opportunities, the ministry said. For example, National Formosa University’s Embedded System and Autopilot Laboratory developed two solar-powered drones in
RSS