Wax apple flower forcing: instead of spraying pesticides, farmers switch to fertilizer; a PhD grower's field-tested practice with no one promoting it

(Continued from previous article) Can wax apple flower forcing be done without pesticides? The "tree thinning" pruning method currently advocated by the agricultural research and extension station has already been successfully tested by cooperating farmers. In addition, some farmers and researchers have tried non-toxic alternative materials, switching to mineral oil or potassium fertilizer, and the results have also been good.

The only problem is that farmers are stuck in the habit of spraying pesticides to force flowering, so no one promotes it. If the government would pay attention to this matter, publicize and promote it, and conduct trials in a more scientific way to find the best alternative, farmers might then be able to abandon the practice of using insecticides to force flowering. And many consumers nowadays care not only about food safety, but even more about whether the production process is environmentally friendly. Growers who force flowering without pesticides deserve more recognition.

Still uncomfortable even wearing a gas mask, so switching to mineral oil and high-phosphorus, high-potassium formulas worked well

Yang Dunwei, a farmer in Neipu, Pingtung, has also gone three years without using insecticides to force flowering. The reason is that the dilution ratio was too concentrated. His wife, Jiang Youti, added from the side, "I even bought him a gas mask to wear, but he still feels unwell after spraying!"

Yang Dunwei and his wife both originally worked in the tech industry. When they returned to farming, they chose wax apple, which has the highest technical threshold, feeling that only this would be challenging. The husband focuses on the fields, while the wife took a pesticide management personnel training course, and only then realized that the toxicity of organophosphate agents is no small matter. But among the older generation of farmers, even if they are poisoned, they will not say so.

"Pesticide shops, afraid that your trees won't flower, suggest that you spray. Actually, as long as you open the netting, they will flower naturally. As long as the earlier steps are done well, it will happen, but everyone still sprays, just to be safe." Yang Dunwei described the mindset of ordinary farmers.

In order to avoid spraying pesticides to force flowering, he tried replacing them with mineral oil or high-phosphorus, high-potassium formulas, and both could achieve the goal of stimulating the fruit trees, with very good results. There was also another orchard that, because it was low-lying and flooded for a long time, had nothing