What are the characteristics of Jili lychee, the largest new lychee variety in Taiwan, China
After ten years of research and development by the Agricultural Research Institute and four years of trial planting by Taiping fruit farmers, the new lychee variety Jili (Tai Nong No. 4) officially held a launch event on the morning of the 4th. Its huge fruit is three times the size of ordinary lychee, with excellent taste, and its production period is staggered from that of Heiye lychee, making it a new asset for both export and domestic markets.
At the launch event, Taiping Farmers' Association Director-General Li Shuzhen, Chairman Lin Zhangji, and Standing Supervisor Chen Zhanqun said that lychee is an important economic fruit tree in the jurisdiction of the Taiping District Farmers' Association, covering about 500-600 hectares, mainly the Heiye variety. Its production period is short and concentrated in June, and during this period Taiwan lychee faces market pressure from oversupply year after year. Therefore, under the guidance of the Taichung City Government, the Farmers' Association actively sought methods such as variety diversification, effectively staggering production periods, and extending the fruit supply period, with stabilizing farmers' profits as the primary industry development goal.
Deputy Director of the Agriculture Bureau Zhang Longren said that after many years of making on-site visits to the Fengshan Branch of the Agricultural Research Institute to observe the results of lychee breeding and cultivation techniques, it was confirmed that variety renewal is the only way to create new business opportunities.
Dr. Deng Yongxing, who developed the new lychee variety, said that Jili was successfully developed after ten years of research and development. In the 98th year of the Republic of China, the Agricultural Research Institute launched the exclusive licensing and technology transfer case for Tai Nong No. 4 Jili. The Taiping Farmers' Association obtained support from the Agricultural Research Institute and the Council of Agriculture, and the Farmers' Association successfully obtained the exclusive authorization for a term of 25 years.
In the 99th year of the Republic of China, over the course of one year, a variety mother-tree park was established in the orchard of Taiping fruit farmer and former Chairman of the Taiping Farmers' Association Chen Pinghe, and many lectures and on-site propagation technique training sessions were held. During the four years after authorization, Tai Nong No. 4 lychee has consistently shown excellent horticultural characteristics, including no alternate-year flowering, high yield, 20 tons per hectare, one string weighing one Taiwan jin, huge fruit shape (single fruit weight over 50 grams), three times the size of ordinary lychee, chewy flesh, and bright red peel color. Over the past three years, it has received very high praise in displays at the Lizhu Taiping Grand Event and in trial market sales.
In order to share this achievement with friends in the lychee industry, the Taiping Farmers' Association carefully planned this variety renewal achievement presentation and observation meeting on the 4th, hoping to plan for Tai Nong No. 4 to develop with Taiping District as the center into a dazzling star of the central Taiwan lychee industry, and looking forward to everyone jointly safeguarding this hard-won variety right, so that farmers cultivating it in the future can prosper together and coexist, creating a new future for the industry.
