The Taiwan Agricultural Research Institute has launched a new pineapple cultivar that smells like a mango and is better adapted to rainy weather, saying it could be a new star of exported fruits.
The new cultivar, named Tainung No. 23, was developed by the institute’s Chiayi Agricultural Experiment Station after 24 years of research.
Bred from two parent pineapple cultivars — Tainung No. 19 and Tainung No. 21 — the new cultivar is better adapted to Taiwan’s rainy environment, station associate researcher Kuan Ching-shan (官青杉) told a news conference in Chiayi City on Friday.
Photo: Ting Wei-chieh, Taipei Times
Due to the nation’s hot and wet summers, many pineapple strains yield poor-quality fruit, which might contain too much moisture, have a weaker flavor or ripen too quickly, the station said, adding that this results in losses for farmers.
The effects of climate change have made the situation worse, it added.
By comparison, the Tainung No. 23 pineapple features a mango smell that would not be affected by the summer weather, with its sweetness and sourness nicely balanced, Kuan said.
Dubbed “mango pineapple” by farmers, the new cultivar’s average sweetness reaches 18.2 degrees, with a sourness of about 0.7 degrees, he said, adding that it tastes delicate and does not have apparent fibers.
According to the Agriculture and Food Agency’s fruit sweetness scale released in 2018, sugar cane for ordinary consumption (not for making sugar) usually has 20 degrees of sweetness, while a quality pineapple should have at least 13 degrees.
Weighing 1.4kg each on average, the new pineapple looks like a short cylinder, and its skin takes on an orange hue when it ripens, Kuan said.
Its plants are relatively short, to help farmers, the station said, adding that farmers should use machines to save on labor when caring for the plants.
Its fruit produced in autumn and winter can be stored longer, making it suitable for exporting, the station said.
The Japanese market has responded positively to the pineapple, station director Chen Kan-shu (陳甘澍) said, adding that farmers interested in growing it can contact the station for authorization.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
RSS