A green LED technique has reduced beet armyworm infestations by 40 percent and boosted spring onion production by up to 20 percent, the Taiwan Agricultural Research Institute’s Fengshan Tropical Horticultural Experiment Branch said last week.
Beet armyworms have proliferated across spring onion farmland in Yilan County over the past few years, as climate anomalies led to reduced rainfall in summers, branch director Lee Wen-li (李文立) said.
Spring onion leaves nibbled by beet armyworms have holes or white marks, which seriously decrease their commercial value and cause huge financial losses, Lee said, adding that pesticides are not effective, as the larvae hide in the pipe-shaped leaves.
Photo courtesy of the Taiwan Agricultural Research Institute’s Fengshan Tropical Horticultural Experiment Branch
Lin Tung-hai (林東海), a grower of spring onions based in Yilan County, said that many agricultural workers in Sansing Township (三星) have refrained from planting the crop due to infestations.
“We used to boast 400 hectares [of spring onion planting area], but it is down to 150 hectares,” Lin said.
Branch associate researcher Fang Hsin-hsiu (方信秀), whose work has shown that green LEDs can prevent lychees from being damaged by litchi fruit borers, has also found that beet armyworm could be kept inactive at night by the light, as the larvae are nocturnal, just as the borers are.
The LED technique was applied to green onion farms in Sansing and reduced crop damage by beet armyworms by about 40 percent after three years of experimentation, Fang said.
Branch assistant researcher Lee Hsiang-yi (李香誼) said that the technique boosted production by up to 20 percent.
The technique also reduced pesticide use by 40 percent, Lee Wen-li said.
Although installation of the LED system costs about NT$15,000 per 1,000m2, with higher electricity bills on top of that, the cost is largely offset by reduced expenditure on pesticides, he said, adding that the technique is expected to boost revenue by NT$50,000 per 1,000m2.
The technique could reduce beet armyworm activity by about 50 percent, Lin said, adding that he would consider the investment rewarding as long as the boost in spring onion production covers the costs.
Additional reporting by Chen Wen-chan
China has reserved offshore airspace in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea from March 27 to May 6, issuing alerts usually used to warn of military exercises, although no such exercises have been announced, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported yesterday. Reserving such a large area for 40 days without explanation is an “unusual step,” as military exercises normally only last a few days, the paper said. These alerts, known as Notice to Air Missions (Notams), “are intended to inform pilots and aviation authorities of temporary airspace hazards or restrictions,” the article said. The airspace reserved in the alert is
More than 6,000 Taiwanese students have participated in exchange programs in China over the past two years, despite the Mainland Affairs Council’s (MAC) “orange light” travel advisory, government records showed. The MAC’s publicly available registry showed that Taiwanese college and university students who went on exchange programs across the Strait numbered 3,592 and 2,966 people respectively. The National Immigration Agency data revealed that 2,296 and 2,551 Chinese students visited Taiwan for study in the same two years. A review of the Web sites of publicly-run universities and colleges showed that Taiwanese higher education institutions continued to recruit students for Chinese educational programs without
A bipartisan group of US senators has introduced a bill to enhance cooperation with Taiwan on drone development and to reduce reliance on supply chains linked to China. The proposed Blue Skies for Taiwan Act of 2026 was introduced by Republican US senators Ted Cruz and John Curtis, and Democratic US senators Jeff Merkley and Andy Kim. The legislation seeks to ease constraints on Taiwan-US cooperation in uncrewed aerial systems (UAS), including dependence on China-sourced components, limited access to capital and regulatory barriers under US export controls, a news release issued by Cruz on Wednesday said. The bill would establish a "Blue UAS
The Republic of China Army Command yesterday relieved Kinmen Defense Battalion commander after authorities indicted the officer on charges connected to using methamphetamine. The Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Wednesday detained Colonel He (何) after the Coast Guard linked him to drug shipments and proceeded to charge him yesterday for using and possessing crystal meth. The man was released on a NT$50,000 bail and banned from leaving Kinmen, the office said. Army Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Chen Chien-yi (陳建義) told a news conference yesterday that He has been removed and another officer is taking over the unit as the acting commander. The military
RSS