Major research of our department is that improvement of varieties and cultivation techniques of tropical fruit trees, such as papaya, mango, wax apple, lychee, carambola, jujube, guava, sugar apple, passion fruit, pitaya and emerging tropical fruit trees. Papaya varieties included Tainung No. 1, 2, 3 and 6 (Chu-Yu), Tainung No. 5 (ring spot virus tolerance variety), and newly varieties Tainung No. 10 (Orange Baby) and Tainung No. 11 (Little Baby). Mango varieties included Mango Tainung No. 1, Tainung No. 2, and Tainung No. 3 (Love it). Wax apple varieties included Tainung No. 1 (Amethyst), Tainung No. 2 (Big and Red), and Tainung No. 3 (Sugar Barbie). Lychee varieties included Tainung No. 2 (Wuang Lee), Tainung No. 4 (Lucky) and Tainung No. 6 (Colorful). Carambola varieties included Tainung No. 1, 2, 3 (Red Dragon) and Tainung No. 4(Golden Gargon). Jujube varieties included Tainung No. 1, Tainung No. 4, Tainung No. 9 (New Honey King), Tainung No.12 (Water Honey) and Tainung No. 13 (Shirley). Guava variety is Tainung No. 1 (Emperor). Passion fruit Tainung No. 1, its self-compatibility rate reach 60%. Also, Pitaya Tainung No. 1 (Candy Candy). These varieties as stated above would be very popular both in customers’ and famers’ side.

　For the improvement of cultivation techniques, researched and promoted papaya net house cultivation to prevent ring spot virus infection and stabilized production and increased fruit quality. For jujube: using net house cultivation to prevent oriental fruit fly and bird raiding, and using LED light to reach early-yielding. For lychee: established dwarfing cultivation techniques in Yu-Her-Pau, and using net house cultivation and electric lighting to reduce Conopomorpha sinensis damage and chemical pesticide. For wax apple: using controlled flooding, root pruning, trunk girdling and black PE net shading to promote early-yielding and high-quality fruits, and also using heating system to reduce fruit chilling in winter. For guava: promoted season regulation, improved cultivation techniques and organic liquid fertilization of Pearl, Crystal and Emperor varieties to increase fruit quality. Pitaya net house

cultivation and LED light to prevent oriental fruit fly and also reach production period adjustment. Therefore, using facilities and automated monitoring and management systems to establish a facility cultivation system as an adjustment model for tropical fruit tree production under extreme climate.

For soil and water conservation, in order to make sustainable slope orchards, we set up a demonstration farm for soil and water conservation on slopes, using Bahai Grass cultivation, and cooperated with mountain ditch for contour planting that would effectively reduce soil erosion, and also established water and soil conservation classrooms to improve people's concept of water resource conservation

　In order to essential climate change and market competition resulting of trade liberalization, our Department would continue breeding new varieties, developing cultivation techniques, facility production model, adversity production model, sustainable management and improving labor-saving cultivation techniques to lower production costs and enhance quality and competitiveness of Taiwan fruits.