Crazy avocado in autumn! "born good oil" fat-burning king, there are many fresh varieties on the ground, and the experts personally teach you to choose.

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"if a census is conducted on 'have you ever eaten avocado', half of Taiwan's population should have never tasted this fruit." This is the "unofficial statistics" of an avocado farmer. In this survey of "avocado selection Station", most of the readers of "upstream and downstream" have "eaten" or "haven't eaten"?

Even if it is a crop that is strange to many people, avocado is not a new immigrant from Taiwan. It was introduced to Taiwan as early as the Japanese occupation. At present, there are more than 30 avocado varieties in Taiwan, and the planting area is increasing day by day. Avocado is on the market from June to February every year, when the autumn wind is blowing, the varieties of autumn harvest such as Houer, October red, autumn available and so on are selling well.

"upstream and downstream" through the introduction of two avocado research experts, we invite you to get to know the fruit with the titles of "Fat King of Fruit World", "Forest Cream", "Cream of the Poor" and so on: avocado. I hope that after reading the report, more readers will move from "No" to "YES" in the survey of "avocado selection Station."

Avocado is a popular new star in the fruit world (Photography / Yang Yuyun). Avocado has a long history of planting avocado.

Avocados may have appeared on this land since Taiwan was ceded to Japan. According to a 1925 report by Fengzhi Guishima, a technician from Chiayi Agricultural Experimental Branch, after an expedition to Mexico, the Japanese presented several Mexican avocados to Taiwan in 1895, but all of them died after cultivation. In 1902, the director of aquaculture and production, Shindu rice, introduced avocado seedlings from Hawaii and planted them in the Taipei Botanical Garden, but they did not survive.

From 1918 to 1931, Japanese introduced different varieties and planted them in Shilin and Chiayi Horticultural Experimental Branch. By 1938, in addition to planting 23 kinds of avocado, five varieties such as "Nutmeg Shisheng No. 1" had been bred in Chiayi Branch.

When Japan was defeated in the war, the Japanese army destroyed more than 200 old avocado trees of more than 20 varieties in Chiayi Branch and dealt a heavy blow to Taiwan's avocado planting technology. Luckily, some of the plants were left in the farm near the place, and the agronomists repropagated by grafting or high pressure. The Council for Agricultural Development (now the Council of Agriculture) has introduced various varieties from the United States and planted them in Chiayi Branch, laying the foundation for Taiwan's avocado industry.

Looking at the 100-year history of avocado cultivation, there is no corresponding record of planting area. This is because it was not vigorously promoted in the early years, and the public did not know the nutritional value and eating method of avocado, so it was not taken seriously until 1997. Avocado was not listed in the Annual report of Agricultural Statistics.

The area decreased due to the flood in the producing area, and there was a tendency to increase production in the rest of the year.

Based on the analysis of the data in the past 23 years, it was found that the planting area of avocado showed an N-shaped distribution. The planting area in the first year of registration was 403ha. From 1997 to 2005, the acreage increased year by year, reaching a maximum of 925ha. Unfortunately, it decreased year by year from 2006 to 2011, and reached a new low of 505ha. Fortunately, the acreage began to climb again after 2012, reaching 929 hectares in 2019, setting a new record in 2005.

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Cai Huiwen, an assistant researcher at the Chiayi Branch of the Agricultural Test Institute, said that the N-shaped distribution was due to the increase in consumer population and the improvement of production efficiency from 1997 to 2005, but after the peak of the avocado industry, floods caused a large number of plant deaths in successive years, so there was a decline in 2006-11. With the promotion of domestic and foreign film and television stars' promotion of the unsaturated fatty acids in avocado, including Taiwan, the global avocado craze has increased year by year, resulting in an increase in the acreage of avocado in Taiwan.

In addition, because avocado is a tropical fruit, Taiwan's cultivation is mainly in the south, and the planting area in Tainan has always been the highest in the 23 years recorded in the Statistical Annual report.

Avocado needs to be planted in the right place, and the planting technology in Taiwan is increasing day by day.

Chung Chi-Ming, an avocado researcher who founded the avocado theme museum, says that Taiwan named the crop with the scientific name Persea americana and the English name Avocado "avocado" because "it is shaped like a pear and its meat is like cheese." The Japanese call it avocado, which should be literally translated as another English name Alligator Pear.

Despite the fact that avocados have strong heads, they seem to be planted and grown casually. Chung Chi-Ming says that it is not easy to take care of avocados, especially in the first few years of planting, the probability of plant death is not low. Because it is a shallow-rooted crop, avocado is extremely susceptible to disease and is also vulnerable to strong winds. In addition, it needs to be planted in well-ventilated, well-drained soil and sexually acidophilic soil. The common diseases are root rot, saw rot, brown root disease, anthrax and so on. The main pests are Drosophila oriental fruit fly, stink weevil and shell worm.

However, because the price of avocado is stable and the harvest time is long, farmers can arrange the harvest date on their own, and their income is relatively better than other crops, so even if there are the above difficulties in planting, more and more farmers have been investing in the avocado industry in recent years. Farmers and research teams encourage each other, and the technology of growing avocados in Taiwan is also increasing.

"born good oil" ate healthily and used beautifully.

Compared with other fruits, avocado is not only low in sugar, but also its sugar is a unique seven-carbon sugar, preliminary studies have shown that it may be a substance to control blood sugar and weight. Secondly, avocados contain amazing minerals and vitamins, with 1.5 times as much potassium as bananas and 7 times as much iron as apples. Avocado is also one of the few foods rich in vitamin C and E at the same time. The antioxidant function can be achieved by reducing and oxidizing vitamin E by vitamin C.

Avocados are naturally good oil (Photo Source / Pexels)

But the most important thing is the "natural good oil" of avocado: it is rich in fat, especially monounsaturated fatty acids, which account for 71%. Because the fat takes 4 to 6 hours to digest after entering the body, it can prolong the sense of satiety and reduce food intake. In addition, avocados are rich in dietary fiber, which contains 2 grams of fiber for every 3 grams of weight. this water-soluble dietary fiber will absorb water and expand into the human body, occupy the space of the stomach, and indirectly produce a sense of satiety. These are the reasons why heavy people tend to pay attention to avocado.

Avocado is also a good maintenance product, because avocado oil is easily absorbed by the skin, has excellent moisturizing effect, and is rich in vitamins C and E and minerals, so it can be used as a hand protector, mask and hair care oil. keep the skin delicate and tender in the most natural way, moisturizing and moisturizing the hair.

After studying one crop all his life, Zhong Zhiming cultivated two new avocado varieties.

Zhong Zhi plays an important role in the cultivation and promotion of such a super fruit in Taiwan. During his tenure at the Chiayi Branch of the Agricultural examination Institute, he introduced varieties from the United States three times. at present, he introduces most of the common avocado varieties in Taiwan. at the same time, he is also the producer of "Tainong No. 1" and "Tainong No. 2."

"now that you've done it, do it as well as you can." It is Zhong Zhiming's attitude of engaging in agricultural research. He has worked in the Agricultural examination Institute for 30 years and has been studying avocado for 27 years. Even though he retired seven years ago, he still reads papers regularly or looks up foreign cases on the Internet. "I'm still thinking about avocados. It's something I've been studying all my life, and I'm full of feelings for it." He said.

He has been studying avocados all his life, and Zhong Zhiming is full of feelings for avocados. (photography / Yang Yuyun)

It took Zhong Zhiming nearly 20 years to cultivate two avocado varieties. The mother plant of "Tainong No. 1 (Honggan)" was successfully cultivated by Lula,2008 in 2000. It is characterized by fleshy Q, high oil content, and returning to the throat. Tainong No. 2 (Green Gold) was launched the next year, and the mother plant is Jiaxuan No. 3, which is otherwise called "Green Gold" because its mature peel is still green, and its golden flesh tastes dense and delicate, which is also recognized by the market.

Breeding is so time-consuming because it takes seven or eight years to identify a suitable mother plant, and then it takes seven or eight years to plant it with seeds. Chung Chi-Ming says that breeding makes people want to pursue perfection, but there is no perfect variety in the world. because retirement is imminent, he told himself not to be too perfectionist, and it was only before retirement that he launched two varieties with plant variety rights to benefit farmers and consumers.

Call on the government to establish avocado harvest standards to make consumers confident

Although he has retired from the Agricultural Test Institute, Zhong Zhiming still talked about the "harvest maturity" he was worried about when interviewed. He said that the longer the avocado hung on the tree after ripening, the higher the oil content, the better the taste after harvest, and the more nutritious.