Tainan agriculture research center develops new cherry tomato variety

台南市農業研究中心開發櫻桃番茄新品種

‘Tainan No. 25’ offers sweet-and-sour flavor and extended shelf life for exporting


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Tainan District Agricultural Research and Extension Station said Tuesday that it has developed a new cherry tomato variety called “Tainan No. 25.”

Tainan District Agricultural Research and Extension Station Director Chen Yu-chu (陳昱初) said the new varietal has an oblong shape and weighs about 11.5 grams per fruit on average. He noted that its sweet-and-sour flavor and ability to be refrigerated at 5 C for up to four weeks, makes it suitable for exporting, per CNA.

Chen said the “Jade Girl” cherry tomato is the most popular among consumers and the most commonly cultivated by farmers. However, he noted that its lack of heat tolerance typically limits its harvest season from December to April.

The Tainan No. 25 variety is heat-tolerant and suitable for cultivation between March and May, Chen said. He added that farmers can adjust the planting schedules of both varieties to extend the availability of cherry tomatoes by an additional one to two months.

According to the agency, Taiwan’s annual domestic trade volume of cherry tomatoes is approximately 19,000 tonnes, with about 31 tonnes exported mainly to Hong Kong and Singapore. It noted that an attempt three years ago to export the Jade Girl variety to the Middle East was unsuccessful due to its short shelf life of less than two weeks, making it challenging to preserve quality during sea transport.

Tainan No. 25 could help overcome storage and shipping limitations with its longer shelf life, the agency added. It hopes this new variety will open doors to broader export markets.

Chen said the agency has introduced natural predators of pests to help control their population and support cherry tomato growth. He added that this technique has been successfully tested on several tomato farms, cutting pesticide costs by nearly 60% and increasing yields by at least 20%.

In July, the agency also developed a tomato variety called “Tainan No. 1,” which is resistant to bacterial wilt, a soil-borne disease that blocks water flow in tomato plants. Chen added that it is the first domestically developed variety that combines disease resistance with the ability to withstand high and low temperatures.