With food contamination involving pesticide residues being a major concern to consumers, a special way of growing carambola in Taiwan makes them especially appealing to health conscious consumers, said veteran farmer Chen Chia-hsin, who in 2000 introduced net house cultivation to his orchard. Chen, who has more 20 years of experience in the business, won […]

Known internationally as “snake fruit”, the exotic salak derives its name from its reddish-brown scaly skin. While the fruit looks intimidating to eat, peeling the skin reveals a white clove-like flesh. Gourmands describe the fruit as crunchy like an apple but tastes like a mix of pear, pineapple, and banana with hints of jasmine and […]

GUANGZHOU, CHINA: Preparations for the 5th International Symposium on Tropical and Subtropical Fruits (5th ISTSF) to be held in Hua Tai Hotel, Guangzhou, China on 18-20 June 2012 are well underway. It is the foremost

A ‘training-for-trainers’ course on food processing was conducted at the Sentra Pengembangan Agribisnis Terpadu (SPAT) Training Center in East Java, Indonesia for 3 Fijian participants from 31 May to 2 June 2012.

  The 2010 volcanic eruptions of Mount Merapi, Indonesia severely crippled salak (snake fruit) production in the Central Java area, destroying 1,400 hectares and affecting up to 3,800 hectares of plantations. Sleman Agriculture, Fishery, and Forestry Agency told The Jakarta Post that salak producers lost more than Rp 200 billion (USD 21.8 million) due to […]

SERDANG, MALAYSIA: The ASEAN Cooperation in Food, Agriculture and Forestry initiated a training on carambola held in the Malaysian Agricultural Extension Training Institute (AETI) on 29 Apr – 12 May 2012.   15 participants from 3 countries attended the training, which covered topics on carambola production, soil management, pest & disease management, post harvest handling, […]

More than 20,000 villages in 56 provinces of Thailand have been stricken with drought since February, said the Thai Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department in an interview with the Bangkok Post.   The optimal temperature to produce lychee is between 20 and 30 degrees Celsius. However, however, the temperature reached as high as 40oC. This […]

INDIA: The temperamental weather has led to a delay in harvest, causing mango prices to rise from Rs 1,000-4,000 (USD 19-76) to Rs 5,000-10,000 (USD 95-190) per box (4 dozen-10 dozen pieces). The cause of delay vary from area-to-area, including unusual heavy rainfall, drought, and strong winds.   Mango plantations in northwest and east India […]

Booth of the Southern Fruits Research Institute (SOFRI), an associate member of TFNet CAO LANH CITY, VIETNAM: The 1st Festival of Safe VAC products was organized by the Southern Vietnam Gardening Association (VACVINA), in cooperation with newspaper Rural Economy and the local Dongthap provincial government on 15-20 April 2012.   The festival highlighted agricultural products […]

The Peruvian Avocado Commission launches a new marketing campaign to commemorate its re-entry to the American Market, in line with the June-September avocado season. The campaign “Monumental Taste” conveys Peru’s heritage along with its cuisine and products.   Peru is set to ship 60 million pounds of avocados are the United States in 2012, answering […]

  The 7th International Postharvest Symposium (IPS 2012) will be held on 25-29 June 2012 in Putra World Trade Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Bearing the theme Postharvest for Wealth and Health, IPS 2012 aims to highlight advances in the global postharvest horticulture research and development, facilitate a forum for information exchange, and strengthen linkages among […]