Divine guidance
In his research, Tsay discovered the importance of using "friendly" bacteria to bolster a plant's immune system. In 1983 he repeatedly beseeched Emperor Guan to help his research. "One time the divination slip told me that Lord Guan would instruct me later that night!" That night as he was deep in meditation, Lord Guan did in fact appear to him, telling him to travel to the east the next morning. Tsay complied, setting out early the next morning on his motorcycle. He stopped for lunch in Zhudong at the orchard of a farmer named Fan, and while he was eating, his eye chanced upon a tree leaf that was covered in a whitish powder of bacteria and spores. His heart racing, he exclaimed, "Eureka! Those are the bacteria I need!"
Tsay's missing link was a kind of filamentous bacteria of the order Actinomycetales that resembles mold. Although there are approximately 9000 different actinomycetes on the planet, due to insufficient research, agricultural applications have only been found for three or four of them, Tsay's formula naturally being one of them.
The journey from discovery through development and finally to successful application and promotion lasted 18 years. But the reason for the 18 in the name comes from the observation early on in the research and development process that it produced watermelons and citrus fruits as vigorous as an 18-year-old youth.
Amazingly enough, although saddled with home and car loans at the time, never once did he think to go commercial with his formula, preferring to pay out of his pocket. For more than 10 years, he has crisscrossed the island with his precious bacteria housed in a PET bottle. For the farmers of the more than 1000 agricultural production and marketing groups that he has visited, Tsay has become something of a mythic figure, a veritable living Buddha.
For many years now he has gone to school at 5:30 a.m. and returned after midnight. He works seven days a week so as to make himself available to farmers for consultation. If he receives a distress call, he'll make the trip to investigate in person no matter how far it is. Sometimes in a single day he'll head to Southern Taiwan to check out some orchards and be back at school to teach classes by midday. Tsay never complains about the amount of work, because he knows all too well from experience that a failed crop doesn't just affect one person's livelihood, but that person's children. In fact, he's seen farmers tell their children: "The reason you kids are able to go to school is because of Professor Tsay."
Since Tsay's efforts directly interfere with pesticide merchants' profits, he has received numerous threats over the years. Tsay's certainly no man to be trifled with-he runs two martial arts schools and is himself a master-but, as one saying goes, "an arrow in the dark is hard to avoid." Though he does feel guilty for making his family worry, and even though he's received offers of up to NT$60 million for the patent of his formula, his will remains as immovable as a mountain.
Faced with these threats, Tsay recalls his oath years ago to put the welfare of the people ahead of his own fortunes. Sometimes the farmers he helps are able to earn in one year what Tsay makes in 10! When asked what his compensation is, he replies succinctly, "Satisfaction."
NCHU's monthly seminars for farmers always attract a full house, a testament to their willingness to learn. One of the features of the seminars is an on-site plant clinic where farmers can obtain a diagnosis for sick crops.