Greenhouse tunnel cultivation of Jade Girl cherry tomatoes doubles yields while saving labor

Young farmer Chen Mingxiong took over the family business eight years ago. Under the guidance of the farmers' association and the production and marketing group, he adopted the greenhouse tunnel cultivation method to grow Jade Girl tomatoes, which not only doubled the yield but also made harvesting easier.

Inside the tunnel, clusters of plump, luscious Jade Girl tomatoes hang all over the trellis, while the unripe green cherry tomatoes dangle in midair, a truly spectacular sight! With their delicate skin and full flesh, Jade Girl cherry tomatoes offer a sweet-and-tart flavor that gives people a feeling of being in love.

Young farmer Chen Mingxiong: "These tomatoes are grown on soymilk. Their texture is dense and smooth, with a slight tartness, and then you get that feeling of being in love."

Chen Mingxiong, who serves as both the president of the Chiayi County Young Farmers Association and the head of the fifth production and marketing group in Budai, uses two types of tunnel cultivation, slanted-vertical and upright, and with a "flower-turning" technique, he moves the flowers and fruit into the tunnel, making it easier to tend and harvest and reducing labor.

Young farmer Lin Yan: "The slanted-vertical type is based on my height, because I'm the one who does most of the vine training. The upright type is based on my husband's height, since it's easier for him to work with."

Young farmer Chen Mingxiong: "The nutrients are supplied only to those two main vines to absorb, so the fruit grows larger, and it gets better sunlight too; there's better ventilation, and by turning the fruit outward, harvesting is easier."

With a drip irrigation system installed and Jade Girl tomatoes grafted onto eggplant rootstock, every plant is quite robust, and Chen Mingxiong generously shares his growing experience.

Young farmer Chen Mingxiong: "Because grafted seedlings are more disease-resistant, the plants are healthier too, sturdy and strong. The drip irrigation supplies nutrients to the plants here, and then we cover it with this plastic sheeting, so weeds are less likely to grow, and we can reduce some labor."

Chen Mingxiong says Jade Girl tomatoes are fresh and high in sweetness, and their unique sweet-and-sour flavor is deeply loved by consumers; currently they are sold mainly by home delivery. Affected by the climate this year, cherry tomato production has dropped by about 10 percent.