Pear scions damaged by low temperatures: Yilan County Magistrate Lin Zi-miao visits Sanxing to inspect

Yilan County suffered severe damage to pear scions due to low temperatures. County Magistrate Lin Zi-miao placed great importance on this and went to the fields yesterday (the 12th) to show concern for farmers in person. She also thanked the central government for its assistance in immediately opening disaster relief reporting, and called on farmers to apply as soon as possible at the township office where the farmland is located after the disaster relief announcement. With the cash relief amount plus the high-graft pear scion cold damage insurance already taken out, the maximum per hectare can reach 120,000 yuan. The county government will also study related material subsidies, and the Hualien District Agricultural Research and Extension Station will also provide technical support so that farmers can return to farming and reconstruction sooner and reduce losses.

High-graft pear is an important specialty fruit of Yilan. The county's planting area is about 63 hectares, with an annual output value of about 100-150 million yuan. Sanxing Township is the main production area, accounting for 68% of the county's planting area. At the end of January 2019, Yilan County was affected by a strong mainland cold air mass, causing severe damage to high-graft pear scions. On February 11, the Yilan County Agriculture Department, together with the Lanyang Branch of the Hualien District Agricultural Research and Extension Station and the Eastern Region Branch of the Agriculture and Food Agency, formed a disaster inspection team to conduct on-site inspection operations. It was determined that the low temperatures indeed caused flower buds not to sprout, with only leaf buds emerging and no flower buds, abnormal flowering, and stalled fruit growth. The average damage rate reached about 50%, with Huangjin pear (Golden Pear) suffering the worst at about 70-80%, causing severe losses to farmers. The Yilan County Government will quickly compile the reports from each township office and send an official letter requesting central government approval to handle cash relief for low-temperature disaster damage to high-graft pear scions.