2026-5-13
Esther Tseng /photo byKnown-You Seed Company /tr. byPhil Newell
(Courtesy of Taiwan Panorama March 2026)

 

There is a skill to picking small tomatoes: Choose ones that are rounded and plump, with smooth and glossy peels, and bright, even coloration. (photo by Jimmy Lin)
There is a skill to picking small tomatoes: Choose ones that are rounded and plump, with smooth and glossy peels, and bright, even coloration. (photo by Jimmy Lin)


“Look, ‘Red Pearl’ is the smallest, ‘Rosada’ is sweet with delicate rosy skin, and ‘Lisa’ is light and refreshing.” Hearing this, one might think one is at a beauty pageant, but when such words come from the plant breeding staff at Known-You Seed Company, it’s tomatoes they are talking about.


We are visiting a farm located near the Southern Taiwan Science Park in Tainan, reached by a winding industrial road off the main road. This is the “3D living catalogue area,” where Known-You shows off its products to foreign visitors and buyers. It is a major center of tomato breeding, with at least 40 tomato varieties, exported to 170 countries, having been bred here.

 

As the name implies, ‘Iron Queen’ beefsteak tomatoes have a “bullheaded temperament.” No matter how long they are cooked, the texture remains chunky.
As the name implies, ‘Iron Queen’ beefsteak tomatoes have a “bullheaded temperament.” No matter how long they are cooked, the texture remains chunky.


Oval, round, egg-shaped

Known-You vice general manager Natasha Yu points out that it is difficult to discern the special features of tomato varieties on the flat pages of the printed catalogues used by most produce vendors and dealers around the world. But visitors to this facility—Known-You’s Tainan Research Farm—can actually taste the fruit and see them with their own eyes, like in a professional sports draft.


Farm director Huang Chun-chieh notes that while in Taiwan the tomato is nowadays often seen as a fruit, in other countries it is generally seen as a vegetable. For example, in Latin America the main tomatoes are large and round, while ‘Roma’ plum tomatoes play a major role in Mediterranean cuisine. Meanwhile, most tomatoes exported to Southeast Asia are oval or egg-shaped and are used in salads or for cooking.

 

Roma tomatoes are popular in Europe, and in southern Europe they are often canned whole. They have a grainy texture and are easy to peel, and when cooked they readily break down into tomato sauce.
Roma tomatoes are popular in Europe, and in southern Europe they are often canned whole. They have a grainy texture and are easy to peel, and when cooked they readily break down into tomato sauce.


Popular tomatoes overseas

In contrast to the relatively round small tomatoes (known as cherry tomatoes) grown overseas, Known-You founder Chen Wun-yu opted for a strategy of market differentiation and developed oval small tomatoes (called grape tomatoes), in long and short varieties. Their sweet taste and pleasing texture influenced markets in Europe and Northeast Asia, where long grape tomatoes have become popular.


Europeans like small tomatoes that can be harvested in bunches. These are often pan-fried or baked in an oven, then sprinkled with balsamic vinegar, to create a tasty dish. Known-You specially developed varieties that, regardless of rain or high humidity, can be harvested in bunches without damaging the fruit, with the aim of promoting them in European markets.


Italians are culinary connoisseurs. The ‘Golden Ruby’ variety, with a natural, fresh sweetness combined with sourness, is extraordinarily popular with Italian produce dealers. This is despite the fact that it is difficult to cultivate because it is not disease-­resistant, and the skin is thin and susceptible to breaking.


Another variety that still is much sought after for its delicious taste is ‘Floridity,’ an “oldster” bred in 1997 and an ancestor of Rosada. Its original breed number was FS-189, but its many generations of descendants have taken that figure all the way to FS-2011.


Meanwhile, the variety that Australians love best for use in salads is ‘Juliet.’ It won an award at the 1999 All-America Selections competition for fruits and vegetables tested in North American soil but submitted from around the world.

 

The ‘Milton’ tomato is sweet and delicious while also being disease-resistant.
The ‘Milton’ tomato is sweet and delicious while also being disease-resistant.


The challenge of global warming

In response to global warming, Known-You has also developed three heat-tolerant tomato varieties so that Taiwan consumers can enjoy fresh tomatoes in summer. As farmers around the world are faced with rising temperatures, breeders are aiming at “stronger and healthier” tomato varieties.


Huang Chun-chieh points to a specific example of Known-You’s customized tomatoes: For Indonesia’s mountainous terrain, the company has developed varieties suited to cultivation at medium elevations. Because the soil there is widely infected with the pathogen for bacterial wilt disease, Known-You’s tomato plants have to be resistant to bacterial wilt, while the leaves must also be resistant to other diseases.


The next time you bite into a juicy tomato in Italy or Indonesia, don’t be surprised if the entrancing taste comes from this research farm along an industrial road in Tainan! 

 

‘Green Diamond’ tomatoes have a distinctive small spot of red color.
‘Green Diamond’ tomatoes have a distinctive small spot of red color.