Loquat farmers hard at work pruning buds to help flowers bloom healthily
Loquat farmers hard at work pruning buds to help flowers bloom healthily
2023-01-02
And now we head to the loquat farms of Chulu in Taitung. It’s loquat flowering season right now, and local expert Yang Chao-hsin is hard at work. Loquat shrubs produce lots of buds – too many for them to sustain. So, part of the farmers’ work is pruning the branches at just the right moment. The pruned buds are used to create a sweet, medicinal tea.
With a deft hand, Yang Chao-hsin picks several buds off this loquat branch, leaving just four buds behind.
Yang Chao-hsin
Loquat farmer
You prune these, and these as well. Normally you leave just about that much.
Nearby this shrub is already flowering and has more blossoms, so more need to be pruned. It’s not necessarily because the flowers are growing wrong. Farmers also need to consider how much nutrient value the branch can absorb.
Yang Chao-hsin
Loquat farmer
If all the flowers bloom, the branch will have at least 30 buds. But the branch can only deliver enough nutrients for eight flowers, at most.
The cold weather has had an impact on the loquat farms here in Taitung’s Chulu. The blooming season is prolonged, but as the weather has gotten colder, the flowers have one by one started to come out.
The farmers thin the flowers out, to eventually grow the best possible fruit. The top third and bottom third of buds are picked off. That concentrates the nutrients available on the remaining flowers, and also makes the flowers bloom at the same time. That way, the size of the loquat fruit is more even, and they’re easier to harvest.
Yang Chao-hsin
Loquat farmer
The quality is better, and the harvesting time is even, so you can just cut them all off at once.
But the buds that are pruned are not thrown away. They are separated, and rinsed clean in net bags, before being dried to create loquat tea, which is said to be good for the lungs.
Yang Chao-hsin
Loquat farmer
It’s written in the “Great Pharmacopoeia,” that loquat is a medicinal plant. The virus in this pandemic mainly targeted our lungs. These loquats are also effective for our lungs.
Loquat has a subtle, sweet fragrance and a delicious herbal flavor. It’s a popular herbal tea. For these farmers, loquat fruit is an important crop. But the pruned buds are also a source of income, a local specialty, and a tradition to hand down to the next generation.
台東初鹿枇杷花逐漸綻放果農「疏花」泡茶飄香
2023-01-02
台東初鹿的枇杷花逐漸綻放，平均一根枝條，約可開30朵。但為了讓養分供應充足、結果時間整齊，枇杷農得先進行「疏花」，將最上層及最下層約三分之一的花摘除。至於摘下來的花，可拿來泡茶。花茶清香，又能潤肺。
動手將枝條上的枇杷花苞摘掉，只留下少少四個花苞。
[[枇杷農 楊招信]]
“這個把它摘掉，這個也要把它摘掉，正常就差不多留這樣”
旁邊一株已經開花的，由於長得更茂密，被摘除的量也更多，但這不一定是花長得不好，而是考量枝條輸送養分的量，所做的選擇。
[[枇杷農 楊招信]]
“整朵開起來，最少、最少它可以結果差不多30顆，這一枝可以承受給它的養分，最多差不多8顆”
台東初鹿產的枇杷花，受到天氣冷得慢影響，開花時間延後，但隨著天氣轉冷，花朵陸續綻放。
果農為了種出品質好的枇杷，進行「疏花」，去除最上面及最下面約三分之一的花，除了防止養分分散，也讓它們集中生長，避免結果時間不一，果實大小較為平均，也方便採收。
[[枇杷農 楊招信]]
“品質好，而且在採收的時候整齊，就全部剪起來就好了”
但採下來的花，不是丟棄，而是將它們一個一個分離之後，裝進網袋沖水洗乾淨，之後再拿去烘乾，就成了潤肺養生的，枇杷花茶原料。
[[枇杷農 楊招信]]
“本草綱目裡面就寫到，枇杷是一種藥用的植物，疫情最主要這個病毒，主要是針對我們肺部，這個枇杷花又針對肺部功能”
枇杷花除了本身有淡淡清香，加上口感不比茶葉差，成了不少人泡茶的另一個選擇。能潤肺的枇杷花茶，成了果農的人氣商品，也增加一筆意外收入。
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