Harvesting the sour-sweet flavor
Although currently lemon prices are looking good, Lin Zhengyi, a farmer who has cultivated lemons in Pingtung for over two decades, is concerned about his orchard. He’s examining lemon trees which have blight, a common disease of citrus trees.
Lin began growing lemons in the late 1980s. Every year at this time, he examines his trees carefully. Lemon trees bloom in March, he says, with fruit appearing six months later. But this of course is heavily dependent on the weather. Apart from this critical factor, blight is their biggest concern throughout the year.
Holding an emaciated, brown-spotted lemon in his hand, Lin says despairingly, “There are so many things you need to worry about—either too much or too little rain, and the danger of pests. Pesticides are not always effective, and using too much is bad and could result in a fine.”
Compared to other fruits like wax apples, lemons are more resistant to heat and cold, but there’s a hidden risk in lemon orchards during harvest, especially on summer afternoons. Lin says that because of a range of improved varieties available in recent years, the height of lemon trees has been reduced, which makes harvesting much easier. But they still need a special tool to harvest the fruit from the higher branches, and the tool can easily act as a lightning rod and attract lightning strikes.
To obviate any danger, most farmers avoid harvesting during afternoon thunderstorms. But if it rains constantly over a period of days, there is a danger that branches heavy with fruit will fall, damaging the lemons.
Farmers in Kaohsiung and Pingtung produce over 10,000 tons of lemons annually, mainly the Eureka variety which is more elongated and has quite a rough skin.
Currently, Taiwan has 1700-odd hectares of lemon orchards, with nearly 80% of this area in Pingtung. Jiuru Township in particular, located on the border with Kaohsiung City, has over 200 hectares of lemon orchards, and is one of the most important regions supplying lemons to Taiwan.
Established six years ago, King Tea has a new product: emerald lemon tea. The beverage has sparked a fresh wave of enthusiasm for lemon flavor in this summer’s tea drinks market. The photo shows King Tea owner Wang Bingxuan.