First Master's-Level Plant Doctors Trained Domestically, Field Experience Still to Be Tested

When people get sick they see a doctor, when animals get sick they see a veterinarian, and when plants get sick there are "plant doctors" too! The Master's Program in Plant Medicine at National Taiwan University has this year produced two master's-level plant doctors: one is currently working in Taipei as a tree doctor, while the other must first complete military service. In the future there will be more plant doctors who have received complete training. But some farmers believe that Taiwan's pesticide database is not complete enough, and that young plant doctors who have just obtained their degrees from graduate school lack field experience, saying "it may take more than ten years before truly genuine 'plant doctors' can be cultivated."

To solve the long-standing problem of pesticide residues in domestic crops, the Council of Agriculture plans to promote a "plant doctor" system and cooperate with academic institutions such as National Taiwan University to train professional pesticide personnel, replacing the current "pesticide material store - farmer" application system. Among these, the Master's Program in Plant Medicine at National Taiwan University, established three years ago, has for the first time this summer had two graduate students obtain master's degrees from the plant doctor program; these two are also currently the only two plant doctors in the country.

In the future, pesticide application will be done under prescriptions issued by plant doctors

Yang Hsiu-chu, a researcher at the Taiwan Agricultural Chemicals and Toxic Substances Research Institute of the Council of Agriculture, pointed out that under the current system, personnel of pesticide manufacturers are required to undergo "pesticide management personnel qualification training" before they can sell pesticides; rural contract sprayers, meanwhile, must undergo "pesticide contract spraying technician training" in order to carry out their work safely. "In the future, cultivated areas will become larger and larger, and will mostly be operated in the form of agribusinesses. We hope to promote the full use of trained contract sprayers to apply pesticides; and also to have professionally trained 'plant doctors' sell and issue pesticide prescriptions, so as to safeguard the safety of pesticide use."

At present, domestic agricultural colleges and departments such as National Taiwan University, National Chung Hsing University, National Chiayi University and National Pingtung University of Science and Technology offer training for 'plant doctors'. Among them, National Taiwan University, referring to the Plant Medicine Program at the University of Florida in the United States, trains plant doctors through a master's degree program, and three years after its establishment, this year it has its first batch of graduating students.

Sun Yen-chang, a professor in the Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology at National Taiwan University who promotes the 'plant doctor' master's program, said that at current sites of pesticide application, "pesticide dealers talk nonsense to farmers" is largely left unchecked. Under the university's master's plant doctor program system, students must go to the countryside for internships, so it is not as pessimistic as farmers say about lacking field experience, and it should be able to effectively improve the food safety problems arising from the chaos in domestic pesticide use.

The Master's Program in Plant Medicine at National Taiwan University is the first professional institution in Taiwan to train plant doctors with a "master's" degree. Sun Yen-chang emphasized: "Training with a bachelor's degree is not quite enough; training with a master's degree is complete." The program requires 50 credits, including epidemiology, pest management, orchidology, economic botany, and comprehensive training courses with internships at farms across Taiwan, and students must also write a master's thesis; the training is solid.

The National Taiwan University plant doctors group has also established the "Dr.Plant Plant Doctor" team, providing online house-call appointments, free sample mailing for diagnosis, and services such as pest and disease control, cultivation instruction, and non-toxic disease-resistant and pest-resistant materials. Hung Ming-yi, a master's plant doctor who graduated only this year, is also part of the medical team, jointly safeguarding plant health.

"Judging by the ideal of one doctor per township, the current number of master's students is indeed insufficient." Sun Yen-chang said that plant doctors are a direction worth promoting, and that problems such as communication during rural internships and the shortage of doctors should gradually improve, moving Taiwan toward the goal of professional crop diagnosis and safe pesticide use.