There’s always ‘Hope’!

‘Hualien AVRDC No. 2 - Hope,’ a new disease-resistant pumpkin variety, was released in Taiwan by the Hualien District Agricultural Research and Extension Station (DARES) at Guan-Ease Farm, Shou-feng Town, Hualien on 28 April 2020. The severity and spread of pumpkin viruses has been on the rise in Taiwan in recent years. To address the problem, in 2012 Hualien DARES and the World Vegetable Center began screening and selecting pumpkin lines for virus resistance. ‘Hualien-AVRDC No. 2-Hope’ proved to be a high yielding line that produces attractive bell-shaped fruit with a sweet taste—and is resistant to Zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV) and Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV). With virus resistance bred into the variety, farmers can reduce pesticide use when growing the crop. ‘Hualien AVRDC No. 2-Hope’ is suitable for organic farming.