Can acupuncture be used on plants?
After experimenting for 15 years, Hsiao Gui-wen (
When applied to fruit-bearing plants such as peach and apple trees, acupuncture not only advanced the harvest time by a month and a half, but also decreased damage by blight.
The technique has been patented, and many interested businesses now are in negotiation for the rights to use the technology.
Hsiao originally ran a chiropractic clinic in Yonghe. After he witnessed ginger lilies change color upon absorbing dyes, he toyed with the idea that plants may have acupuncture points like humans.
To explore the concept, Hsiao commenced worked in the early 1990s with fruit growers at Wuling Farm, Shigang (
After 8 years of research, he had built up a comprehensive map of acupuncture points on plants. He spent another 7 years after that experimenting with the effects of different needle combinations and incisions.
The peach tree that he practiced on produced a great harvest, and eventually accompanied President Chen Shui-bian (
The needles used to acupuncture plants are made of steel spokes from bicycles. The needles are about 3 to 4 times larger than those used for humans.
A fruit tree takes about 20 to 30 needles, and acupuncture can be applied to either the trunk or the branches. The exact acupuncture points are the target of the patent.
After acupuncture, Hsiao also applies his organic crop spray naturally extracted from animals or plants. Hsiao pointed out that many growers use pesticides or hormone enhancer that can damage both the environment and human health.
If his success had come 10 years earlier, Hsiao said, he could have run his own farm. However, since he is already 66 years old, he intends transferring the technique instead.
Because of his love for Taiwan, Hsiao insisted that this technique should stay in Taiwan, and not be transferred to China.
He pointed out that the earlier yields his technique produces can result in prices three to four times higher than the seasonal rate.
On the other hand, scholars from the Department of Horticulture at the National University are more conservative about the effects of acupuncture on enhancing harvest and preventing blight.
Assistant professor Yeh Te-ming (葉德銘) stated that it's common to enhance the growth of plants by changing certain environmental factors, such as the temperature, humidity or light. However, he had never heard of anyone using the acupuncture technique.
Chang Tsu-liang (張祖亮), another assistant professor said that although he had heard about research in the area of plant acupuncture at universities in Germany and in China, actual research results or scientific data are as yet unavailable.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to