Two Generations of Wax Apple Growers Break the Runner-Up Curse and Finally Take the Championship

Information provided by / Kaohsiung District Agricultural Research and Extension Station

Where can you find high-quality, healthy wax apples? The Kaohsiung District Agricultural Research and Extension Station recently held the "Wax Apple Quality Cultivation and Management Orchard Evaluation," and Mr. Huang Guoyang of Donggang Township, Pingtung County, won this year's championship.

The wax apples produced by Huang Guoyang and his father, Mr. Huang Jinliang, using grass cultivation and large amounts of organic fertilizer, are not only large in size, with an attractive bright red color and a sweet, crisp, juicy taste, but have also passed traceability and Good Agricultural Practice certification. They have established their own brand, "Shanghao Wax Apple," and market it through home delivery orders.

Champion winner Mr. Huang Guoyang is a student of the Kaohsiung District Agricultural Research and Extension Station's "Wax Apple Professional Training Course" and is frequently exposed to new cultivation concepts and pesticide use information. His father, Huang Jinliang, won the Shennong Award in 2006. Father and son often participate in the wax apple fruit evaluations and orchard management competitions held by the Kaohsiung Station. They won runner-up three times, in 2005, 2007, and 2011. This time, they finally won the championship amid fierce competition. Huang Jinliang joked that the "runner-up curse" had finally been lifted.

↑ Huang Guoyang (second from right) with his wife (first from right), his parents (second and first from left), and Cai Zhencai of the Farmers' Association extension section (middle rear) with "Shanghao Wax Apple" fruit, truly the pride of Dapeng Bay.

Huang Guoyang is a member of the Donggang Township Farmers' Association Fruit Production and Marketing Group No. 2. In the production process, he emphasizes safe pesticide use and rational fertilization, and keeps detailed records of fertilization, pest and disease control, and cultivation operations for each orchard. Every year, he sends fruit samples for pesticide residue testing to ensure fruit safety. He is not only a member of a Good Agricultural Practice production and marketing group, but starting in 2009, the group also passed the complex verification process for traceability and obtained a TGAP certificate.

In addition, "Shanghao Wax Apple" is not only of excellent quality and reliably safe, but also an "eco-friendly wax apple" produced from an environmentally friendly orchard. Pruned branches and fallen leaves in the orchard are not burned and do not pollute the environment. Instead, they are crushed with a self-propelled branch shredder and left directly in the orchard as organic matter. This practice also earned the Pingtung County Government's "Environmental Contribution Award" and "Eco-Friendly Orchard Certificate."

↑ Mr. Huang Guoyang received the Eco-Friendly Orchard Certificate and the Environmental Contribution Award from the Donggang Township Farmers' Association Fruit Production and Marketing Group No. 2.

The Dapeng Bay "Shanghao Wax Apple" operation of father and son Huang Jinliang and Huang Guoyang covers about 1.5 hectares. Part of the orchard is low-lying and easily floods during the rainy season. To shorten the flooding time, high embankments were built around the orchard, drainage ditches were dug, and after rain, pumps are used to pump water out of the orchard.

Huang Jinliang said that originally, after rain, the orchard would stay flooded for a week, but after pumping, the flooding time was shortened to two or three days, so of course the trees are healthier. Huang Guoyang also said that using grass cultivation in the orchard can balance the nutrient elements in the soil. The grass roots underground can increase soil aeration, and the grass above ground can maintain soil moisture and temperature. No herbicides are used, so the soil ecology is more balanced.

↑ After pruning, branches and fallen leaves are shredded in the orchard and accumulate under the canopy as a thick layer of organic matter.

Huang Dechang, director of the Kaohsiung District Agricultural Research and Extension Station, said that most winners of this year's "Wax Apple Quality Cultivation and Management Orchard Evaluation" competition were young farmers aged 35-45, showing that these new-generation farmers, who actively study and adapt to climate change and consumer trends, have found their own stage and are gradually emerging. Through this evaluation activity, they can also re-examine whether their own cultivation process meets the requirements of "crop health management," which will certainly enable the sustainable development of the wax apple industry.

For related contact information, please contact: Assistant Researcher Chen Siru of the Kaohsiung District Agricultural Research and Extension Station, telephone: 08-7746743.