Eagle-marked bags protect pomelo during season

• By Chen Kuan-pei and Esme Yeh / Staff reporters

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Agricultural workers in Changhua County are using fruit protection bags printed with an eagle to deter Formosan macaques from snatching pomelo fruit ripening on trees.

People passing pomelo orchards in the county’s Baguashan (八卦山) area found that “an army of raptors” had been deployed in the orchard, as almost each fruit was covered with a white bag featuring an eagle’s face.

Ershuei Township Pomelo Production and Marketing Group head Yeh Chiao-lien (葉巧連) yesterday said that damage to fruit from birds has become a serious issue in the area, adding that animals such as macaques or squirrels often nibble at the fruit.

Bags printed with an eagle’s face are pictured at a pomelo orchard in Chuanghua County yesterday.

Photo: Chen Kuan-bei, Taipei

During the fruiting period, it is necessary to bag the fruit, she said.

Local pomelo farmers found that, based on their experience, eagle pictures can protect the fruit from such wildlife damage, Yeh said.

The bags also provide a barrier preventing pests such as fruit flies, moths or sting bugs from eating the fruit or laying eggs, she said.

Local pomelo farmer Tsai Cheng-yi (蔡政義) said that bagging has more benefits beyond protecting fruit from bird or macaque damage.

It can also protect fruit from excessive exposure to sunlight, direct contact with rainwater or being bruised by tree branches, he said.

Bagging the fruit can also reduce the accumulation of dust or pesticides, helping the fruit skin stay clean with an even color favorable to the market, Tsai said.

The Ershui Township Farmers’ Association said that some farmers had set up life-like eagle models or flew eagle-shaped kites to keep sparrows away during the rice harvest season.

Pomelo farmers are using the same tactic by printing eagles on the bags, it said.

The bags are made of more wear-resistant fabric with an “observation window” in the bottom of the bag, allowing farmers to check fruit growth without untying the bag, the association said.

While the bags cost nearly NT$2, slightly more than regular bags, the association has provided a NT$1 subsidy on each bag to reduce the financial burden on pomelo farmers, it said.