‘Tis the season for mandarin oranges in Taiwan, but farmers are frowning. That’s because a notorious kind of bug has been destroying the orange trees before harvest time. But not to worry, because some farmers have found a way to get rid of the pests without using pesticides.
For a long time, Taiwanese fruit farmers have been tormented by white spotted longhorn beetles. Their larvae are born within the wood of fruit trees, and they destroy the trees from within. The beetles, native to Asia, are responsible for about US$5 million in pre-harvest losses of Mandarin oranges each year. The pest can also destroy trees that yield guavas, lychees, carambolas, wax apples, longans, and papayas.
In Taiwan, though, farmers no longer need to worry about this pest. After five years of research, some farmers in eastern Taiwan have come up with a way to battle the pests by using air compressors. The compressors inject pressurized air into the tree bark and kill the larvae without the need for chemicals.
Farmers say one of these air compressors only costs US$1,000, a small sacrifice to make for a rich orange crop.