Plant biology supplies?

I know they exist here as the plant biz is a huge one here. But i am not good with chinese or finding things out. I am having a super hard time finding a lot of biology equipment. Mostly plant growth hormones, agar and microscopy type stuff. I am all into plant biology, but I’m sure this kind of store does both animal/plant (?).

I’m looking for a lot of things, such as gibberellic acid (GA3), agar and different hormones regulators etc. Anyone know of any possibility. I tried asking a university here where to buy, but they were not so interested in helping strangers that don’t attend their school :frowning:

As a side note, these are not chemical companies that sell solvents and such for plant based products (liek essential oils, extractions etc), this is more based on plant propagation.

Thanks a GREAT deal for any leads!

If I were to ask, I’d start asking at the relevant institute at the Academia Sinica in Nangang.

Finally a topic that excites me! :discodance:

Agar: Any grocery store, do you know how to cook it? :ponder:
Gibberellic acid: I can probably find it in 1-4 weeks. Yahoo says 赤霉素 is the Chinese name, but from my experience that is often not the case or it has a special name that they would only recognize as that product and wouldn’t have a clue if you gave them the yahoo name. :unamused:
Hormone regulators: Same thing

Are you going to be using a glove box or a HEPA flow hood? Do you even know the difference?
I would suggest the Agriculture centers, every county has one and they all specialize in different things. Shulin is Taipei County’s, Taichung and Changhua’s is in Dacun and specializes in hydroponics and something else. Wufeng has a research center that specializes in mushrooms and animals(not sure on this).

Universities are normally useless. Universities are only there for employment and face of the clique in charge, anything else including education is secondary. Been there done that and was appalled by the ignorance and cluelessness. YMMV though, but without good Chinese, they are simply going to smile and gently ignore you. :fume: :bluemad: :noway: :eh: :doh:

There’s a 2nd flower market in Taipei that specializes in what you are seeking, but I’ve forgotten where it was. I would assume Chiayi would have what you want since they are big in flowers, maybe Tianwei in Changhua, but with the cartelization it would be hard to get info or products. There’s also a place in Linkou that may also have it if they are still open. You might also try the Xindian Flower Market on Anhe Rd under the overpass.

I might have time Thursday or Friday to run down to Dacun and ask them who to talk to. I just need to know the correct term(s) or how to explain it well in Chinese and that takes time.

Look for the Government’s Agricultural Extension something something. They will give you the stuff for free.

My coworker says it is easier to order the stuff from the US, as most companies already have representatives in Taiwan and only sell to schools and such.

careful, try the DIY section down town.

Okami, are you thinking perhaps of the Neihu flower market on Ruiguang near Gangqian Rd.?

Not sure DB, all I know is it specializes in orchids. There are actually a lot of flower markets in Taipei County and city.

Icon is correct about the agricultural extension. They will bend over backwards for you and I’ve always found them helpful.

Any company selling products from the US will be a mixed bag. I generally feel they are incompetent and you generally have to convince them to sell the product to you. You’re also usually dealing with someone who has no sales experience and often no product knowledge and simply doesn’t want to get into trouble at any cost up to and including not selling anything to you. Always check to see if the product is fresh as often it is several years old and the company has a lifetime monopoly on business in Taiwan. If I get one more f%$#ing email loaded with product gifs that have nothing to do with what I asked. :fume:

Ordering from the US:
This is probably the easiest way to get what you want if you have someone to forward it to Taiwan for you. It’s also hideously expensive.

If you are going to do something like this you need to do the following:

  1. Acquaint yourself with the Chinese words for things with people in the business. You don’t actually have to speak Chinese very well to do this. I get by with some hideously spoken Chinese as anyone who has heard me speak Chinese can attest.
  2. As someone who does something similar as a small business, you need to embrace “ghetto tek”. That’s simply because unlike the civilized world of North American commerce you have to make things work for you because they simply often won’t work for you, are unobtainable or simply don’t exist. It basically breaks down to how much time you’re willing to trade for money to make the equipment you need.

Fantastic. thank you so much guys. As sad as this sounds i have been trying for about 2 years to track down so many different things its hard to imagine my lack of success…but i never ever thought of the government. That is great to know. I often run into companies that just dont want to deal with me and rather sell nothing than try to make it happen. To be fair, I am not a big client.

Another thing is it costs about $2000 to jsut get to taipei (by car) and back, thats if i dont stay the night. I would do it if i had to but i would far prefer mail order. Or somewhere a little closer like Taichung or south. But i cant be too picky!

Do you know the Chinese characters for it? My wife is Taiwanese but she is clueless about biology, and my Chinese is worse than her biology skills.

[quote]Gibberellic acid: I can probably find it in 1-4 weeks. Yahoo says 赤霉素 is the Chinese name, but from my experience that is often not the case or it has a special name that they would only recognize as that product and wouldn’t have a clue if you gave them the yahoo name. :unamused:
Hormone regulators: Same thing[/quote]

Unfortunately i run into the same issue. actually that and also when i think i find a fantastic site with tables of English to Chinese translations its simplified mandarin and no one understands it when i show them. this is quickly followed by a “See…” from my wife :raspberry:

[quote]Are you going to be using a glove box or a HEPA flow hood? Do you even know the difference?
I would suggest the Agriculture centers, every county has one and they all specialize in different things. Shulin is Taipei County’s, Taichung and Zhanghua’s is in Dacun and specializes in hydroponics and something else. Wufeng has a research center that specializes in mushrooms and animals(not sure on this).[/quote]

Great to know, we are close to the big agriculture park in pingtung (sort of close). But i always thought they were jstu filled with research centers and would not take kindly to some white guy snooping around for various hormones…guess i shouldnt assume so much! I am definitely, at least for now, going to go glovebox. I know it will be “ghetto” as you say, but flow hoods are expensive and hard to get into a residential house…plus we rent so not sure how that would go over with teh boss man. Once we get a permanent pad, we will be getting a flowhood in relatively short order. But to be honest i am jsut so anxious to fill some tubes and flasks, no matter how low tek and make shift the setup…i have this itching under my skin that wont go away.

Couldn’t agree more :frowning:

If you do, if you are able could you grab me a phone # or email addy? I would love to get into contact.

[quote]Ordering from the US:
This is probably the easiest way to get what you want if you have someone to forward it to Taiwan for you. It’s also hideously expensive.[/quote]

The cost is what im trying to avoid via US. I always assume these things HAVE to be cheaper here as they are used SO much in things like orchids and other heavy tissue culture markets.

I am pretty well acquainted with customs here and all the plant inspectors, so i dont think importing would be troublesome, only the cost from other nations. plus i dont knowingly buy made in china stuff, so there goes half the suppliers lol.

Seems to be a lot of people into this stuff though. If its ok to ask, what kind of things are you growing? I am mostly doing cactus and getting into the leafy stuff as well (fruit and medicine).

Thanks again!

Sorry to digress but along the same lines I am looking for some stuff to throw in the plant pots and small fish ponds to prevent mosquitoes. There’s some biological stuff which is harmless to aquatic fish…I expect the same places which stock the plant stuff would stock it too?

BTW I tried to buy such stuff online from the US and they won’t sell it abroad due to US regulations. I think they’re afraid people use the stuff/fertiliser to make bombs.

Love the agricultural extension people, though letting me know 2/3’s through the conversation that he also spoke English was nice. :stuck_out_tongue: I wonder who their English teacher is and I know they do have one.

OK here is what he said and then I’ll get to your points in your post.

He said the market and community for this is small. He gave me the telephone number of a place that sells it in Yuanlin, Changhua County and Merck’s Taiwan subsidiary in Taichung. He said Merck is more trustworthy than most suppliers, but tends to sell in larger amounts.
Yuanlin: 04-8322232 彰化縣員林鎮中山路二段301號
Merck: 04-23780316
I’ll probably stop by the Yuanlin store Saturday afternoon and report back here.

Gibberlic acid is interesting. The term I gave was the mainland term, which Taiwanese don’t recognize. As soon as I said the English word they knew exactly what it was because they use the same word in Taiwan, just pronounced as Ji-ber-lin-A-C. The Chinese word they would recognize is 激勃素

Here’s an article that may help. You might be able to get a job if you possess mad sterile skills. Mine have taken a turn for the worse when I switched material, but I should regain them when I start using my old medium again.
agbio.coa.gov.tw/overview_en.asp … o=0&dno=23

If you want a company to be friendlier and more forthcoming, bring your kid. One of my suppliers, the laoban niang hates me and has refused to sell to me in the past if it is just her. She won’t bother me though if the laoban(nice guy) or my daughter is there.

Go to the bakery or dessert section for agar and I believe it says agar on the package. I know Welcome carries it. You can get 500g bags of it at the bakery good store in Changhua for nothing.

There are no fantastic C-E or E-C sites. Every industry uses it’s own terms drawn from Taiwanese, English, Japanese or completely different Chinese terms.

Those researchers are bored out of their mind and don’t mind some distraction. They’ll have a service center for farmers and consumers. Just go in there and ask for what you need and if necessary send you to the right place and person.

Glovebox’s are great for learning hardcore sterile techniques. I use a HEPA flowhood. My newest DIY one cost me almost $8,000NT in materials with all the materials sourced in Taiwan. Just be sure to buy your fan to match your filter before you buy your HEPA filter.

The sheer uselessness of Taiwanese universities is amazing when I’ve had questions answered in less than 24 hours from prestigious US universities.

merck-chemicals.com/taiwan/g … Ecls8eynSY

1g for $910NT

Very cool, I didn’t know that existed. :discodance: