New Taiwan celery variety Taichung No. 1 yields 20% more in summer and fetches good prices

Generally, green-stem celery (celery tube) suffers poor growth and reduced yields when exposed to high summer temperatures. The Taichung District Agricultural Research and Extension Station spent 8 years breeding a new celery tube variety, "Taichung No. 1." When planted in summer, its yield is 20% higher than that of ordinary early-maturing celery tube. It has already been technology-transferred to a company, and consumers may be able to eat it as early as the second half of this year.

Celery tube can be divided by variety into early-maturing, mid-maturing and late-maturing types. Early-maturing celery tube is planted in late August, mid-maturing in September, and late-maturing after October. If early-maturing celery tube encounters high summer temperatures, besides lower yields, the plants are also shorter and smaller, reducing their commercial value.

Dai Zhenyang, the Taichung Station associate researcher who bred "Taichung No. 1," said celery tube lines are extremely complex, so it took 8 years to breed Taichung No. 1. Dai Zhenyang also said that compared with past early-maturing celery, which is easily affected by temperature during development, Taichung No. 1 can be planted early in the central plains and grows better. When planted in summer, its average yield can reach 21,580 kg per hectare, more than 20% higher than ordinary varieties, and it is expected to replace ordinary early-maturing celery tube.

Dai Zhenyang explained that besides being heat-tolerant and high-yielding, Taichung No. 1 also has advantages including green leaf color, strongly fragrant leaf stalks, an average single-plant weight of up to 105 grams, an average plant height of up to 62.9 cm, and a better appearance for sale. At present, "Taichung No. 1" has obtained plant variety rights, and in October last year a variety rights technology license was also granted. Dai Zhenyang said consumers may be able to eat "Taichung No. 1" as early as the second half of this year.

In addition, according to the agricultural products market trading website, in 2018 the Taipei City auction price of celery tube was 41.8 yuan per kg, and in 2017 the Taipei City auction price was 42 yuan per kg.