A Tainan agricultural research station has developed a new sesame variety, “Tainan No. 2,” with 35 percent lower production costs and higher oil content, boosting the competitiveness of Taiwan’s domestic sesame industry.
Taiwan relies heavily on imported sesame, with domestic production accounting for only a small fraction, Ministry of Agriculture data showed.
In 2024, imports totaled 38,149 tonnes, while domestic output was 1,290 tonnes — about 3 percent of the imported volume.
Photo courtesy of the Tainan District Agricultural Research and Extension Station
To increase domestic production, the research station has been promoting “Tainan No. 2” to local farmers.
The variety has two key features: low-shattering pods and improved suitability for mechanical harvesting — which helps overcome reliance on manual labor in sesame production, the Tainan District Agricultural Research and Extension Station said in a statement.
“Shattering” refers to seeds falling out of pods before harvest. A low-shattering variety keeps seeds intact, reducing loss and making mechanical harvesting easier.
Compared with “Tainan No. 1,” the pods of which tend to split and shed seeds after maturing, the new variety reduces seed loss to less than 30 percent and keeps seeds stable in pods after ripening, significantly improving operational efficiency and yield, the station said.
With the “Tainan No. 2” variety, production costs could be cut by NT$50,000 per hectare, overall costs lowered by 35 percent and net profits boosted by more than 35 percent, it said, citing a field test.
The new variety has sturdy stems and stands upright even in wind or rain, with pod heights exceeding 20cm, while the growing period is similar to that of the earlier variety, at about 80 to 90 days, it said.
Average yield reached around 120kg per 0.1 hectare, comparable with “Tainan No. 1,” with some areas showing even higher potential, the station said.
The “Tainan No. 2” variety also has an oil content of 48.2 percent to 51.8 percent, while 100g contains 1,197 to 1,389 milligrams of calcium, both higher than those of “Tainan No. 1,” it said.
A total lunar eclipse coinciding with the Lantern Festival on March 3 would be Taiwan’s most notable celestial event this year, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said, urging skywatchers not to miss it. There would be four eclipses worldwide this year — two solar eclipses and two lunar eclipses — the museum’s Web site says. Taiwan would be able to observe one of the lunar eclipses in its entirety on March 3. The eclipse would be visible as the moon rises at 5:50pm, already partly shaded by the Earth’s shadow, the museum said. It would peak at about 7:30pm, when the moon would
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday held a ceremony marking the delivery of its 11th Anping-class offshore patrol vessel Lanyu (蘭嶼艦), saying it would boost Taiwan’s ability to respond to Beijing’s “gray zone” tactics. Ocean Affairs Council Deputy Minister Chang Chung-Lung (張忠龍) presided over the CGA event in the Port of Kaoshiung. Representatives of the National Security Council also attended the event. Designed for long-range and protracted patrol operations at sea, the Lanyu is a 65.4m-long and 14.8m-wide ship with a top speed of 44 knots (81.5kph) and a cruising range of 2,000 nautical miles (3704km). The vessel is equipped with a
DEFENSE: The US should cancel the US visas or green cards of relatives of KMT and TPP lawmakers who have been blocking the budget, Grant Newsham said A retired US Marine Corps officer has suggested canceling the US green cards and visas of relatives of opposition Taiwanese lawmakers who have been stalling the review of a proposed NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.7 billion) special defense budget. The Executive Yuan has proposed the budget for major weapons purchases over eight years, from this year to 2033. However, opposition lawmakers have refused to review the proposal, demanding that President William Lai (賴清德) first appear before the Legislative Yuan to answer questions about the proposed budget. On Thursday last week, 37 bipartisan US lawmakers sent a letter to Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), the heads
Two siblings in their 70s were injured yesterday when they opened a parcel and it exploded, police in Yilan said, adding the brother and sister were both in stable condition. The two siblings, surnamed Hung (洪), had received the parcel two days earlier but did not open it until yesterday, the first day of the Lunar New Year holiday in Taiwan, police said. Chen Chin-cheng (陳金城), head of the Yilan County Government Police Bureau, said the package bore no postmark or names and was labeled only with the siblings’ address. Citing the findings of a
RSS