The Council of Agriculture established the "Agricultural Experimentation, Research, Education, and Extension Personnel Awards" to recognize individuals who have made significant contributions to the advancement of agriculture. Professor Ting-Hsuan Hung of our department has been honored with the Outstanding Agricultural Education and Extension Personnel Award in its 29th edition this year for his longstanding dedication to promoting plant medical education and providing extension services.
Professor Hung has served in our department for over 21 years. He currently serves as the Director of the "National Taiwan University (NTU) Plant Teaching Hospital" and has previously held positions as the Chair of the Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, the Director of the Plant Medicine Research Center. His contributions in teaching, research, and community service are exceptional. In 2011, he helped establish the "NTU Master’s Program for Plant Medicine," and in 2018, he set up the "NTU Plant Teaching Hospital," advancing the education and promotion of plant protection and plant medicine in Taiwan.
For over a decade, Professor Hung also served as an "Agricultural Extension Professor" at the College of Bioresources and Agriculture, NTU, providing timely pest and disease diagnosis services to farmers in rural areas, earning high praise from the farming community. He is a leading expert on fruit tree diseases both domestically and internationally, dedicating over 30 years to researching the globally renowned plant epidemic, citrus greening disease (Huanglongbing, 黃龍病). In addition to numerous publications in international journals, his rapid diagnostic techniques and field prevention strategies are globally recognized, widely adopted by citrus-producing countries, and have established him as an authority on the disease. His international engagements have significantly enhanced Taiwan's global visibility.
Since 2018, to implement localized services for the "NTU Yunlin Branch," Professor Hung proactively initiated cooperation with the Yunlin County Government's "Agriculture Department" and "Animal and Plant Quarantine Office," establishing the "NTU Plant Teaching Hospital Yunlin Branch." This initiative includes deploying plant doctors for long-term service and forming a team of NTU plant medicine professors to provide expert plant disease prevention and cultivation techniques, earning high acclaim from both the county government and farmers.
Currently, Professor Hung has expanded services to include the "Reserve Plant Doctor Program" promoted by the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine. This initiative involves collaborating with eight reserve plant doctors in Yunlin County to build a more comprehensive farmer service network, supporting the government’s pesticide reduction policies, and delivering accurate pest and disease diagnosis services and precise treatment prescriptions. This effort assists farmers in effectively managing pests and diseases while protecting consumer health. The NTU plant medicine services have now extended to Yilan, the Greater Taipei Metropolitan Area, and the Taoyuan, Hsinchu and Miaoli regions, benefiting more farmers.
