Mangoes are native to South Asia and one of the four major export agricultural products in Taiwan. The flavor of mango fruits has been a popular favorite of many people for years. Unfortunately, there are various mango diseases affected the quality of mango fruits, among them, the anthracnose and black spot are the major diseases in Taiwan. Once the symptoms appear on the fruit peel, it already loses its commercial value. In order to prevent the initial symptom development, farmers will contentiously apply chemical pesticides to control diseases before harvest. However, the maximum residue limits (MRLs) for pesticides in agricultural products must meet the standards of the export countries, result in the pesticide residues often became one of the non-tariff barriers to trade.
Taiwan has established a mango safety management system and diseases control technologies to reduce the use of chemical pesticides. Kaohsiung District Agricultural Research and Extension Station applies IPM strategies for mango, such as field sanitation, timely bagging, phosphorous acid, potassium hydroxide, and Bacillus subtilis KHY8. Bacillus subtilis KHY8 (1x109 cfu/mL), a 500X dilution can effectively reduce the disease incidences of mango bacterial black spot ( Xanthomonas campestris pv. manigiferaeindicae) and fungal anthracnose ( Colletotrichum gloeosporioides). IPM strategies of mango has reduced chemical pesticides usage to 53% in 2018, and to 42% in 2019. With these strategies, farmers can save 43% on diseases control expenses. The production of high-quality and pesticide residue-free mangoes might increase the success rate to expand foreign markets at higher prices, such as Japan and South Korea.
Taiwan: Trouble-free for mango expert
Mangoes are native to South Asia and one of the four major export agricultural products in Taiwan. The flavor of mango fruits has been a popular favorite of many people for years. Unfortunately, there are various mango diseases affected the quality of mango fruits, among them, the anthracnose and black spot are the major diseases in Taiwan. Once the symptoms appear on the fruit peel, it already loses its commercial value. In order to prevent the initial symptom development, farmers will contentiously apply chemical pesticides to control diseases before harvest. However, the maximum residue limits (MRLs) for pesticides in agricultural products must meet the standards of the export countries, result in the pesticide residues often became one of the non-tariff barriers to trade.
Taiwan has established a mango safety management system and diseases control technologies to reduce the use of chemical pesticides. Kaohsiung District Agricultural Research and Extension Station applies IPM strategies for mango, such as field sanitation, timely bagging, phosphorous acid, potassium hydroxide, and Bacillus subtilis KHY8. Bacillus subtilis KHY8 (1x109 cfu/mL), a 500X dilution can effectively reduce the disease incidences of mango bacterial black spot ( Xanthomonas campestris pv. manigiferaeindicae) and fungal anthracnose ( Colletotrichum gloeosporioides). IPM strategies of mango has reduced chemical pesticides usage to 53% in 2018, and to 42% in 2019. With these strategies, farmers can save 43% on diseases control expenses. The production of high-quality and pesticide residue-free mangoes might increase the success rate to expand foreign markets at higher prices, such as Japan and South Korea.