Current Status and Prospects of Small Fruit Production in Taiwan

Although Taiwan produces small fruits on a small scale, it is famous for its production techniques and systems. Only two types of small fruits are economically produced in Taiwan: the grape and strawberry. Four other types (the mulberry Morus alba L., the bayberry Myrica rubra Sieb. et Zucc., the Indian gooseberry Phyllanthus emblica L., and the kiwifruit or Chinese gooseberry Actinidia chinensis Planch. var. setosa and A. deliciosa Ferg.) have production areas of less than 100 ha. Taiwan has been developing production techniques for fruits such as the blueberry. In 2017, Taiwan had production areas of 2,828.6 ha for grapes, 500.33 ha for strawberries, 67.56 ha for mulberries, 31.17 ha for bayberries, and 14.19 ha for kiwifruit. The development of new small fruit crops demands new culture methods and strategies. It is important to breed or select new small fruits from the native germplasm when introducing new foreign varieties. Some special conditions, such as breeding the blueberry plant with a short chilling requirement, are needed. Further, new culture systems such as year-round production for grape, mulberry, and strawberry have been tried. Although Taiwan has cultivated grapes for wine production for over 40 years, new grape cultivar breeding programs for wine production have been introduced.