From August 26th to 28th, a Japanese fruit farm and fruit sorting factory tour was held for the major fruit purchasing agents from Malaysia and Vietnam.
The theme of the tour was popular pear-picking and melon greenhouses. On this occasion, farm work processes and fruit selection that are usually not open to the public were revealed. Let’s look at the secrets behind the delicious and fresh fruit grown in Japan.
Experience ripe pears in season!
This time, the buyers visited a farm in Shimotsuma City, Ibaraki Prefecture, a region famous for pears. Here, a red variety of pear called Kosui is cultivated.
In general, Japanese pears can be divided into two types: yellow-green Aonashi such as the Twentieth Century grown in Tottori Prefecture and brown-colored red pears. Among the many varieties of Japanese pears, Kosui is the most widely cultivated, accounting for about 40% of total production. There are many farms in Ibaraki, where we visited this time, and Chiba Prefecture, which has the highest yield (according to data for 2017). The most cultivated varieties after Kosui, are Hosui, which has a good balance between sweetness and tartness, and Niita, which has a juicy and soft flesh.
The Pear is a fruit that announces the onset of autumn. Kosui begins to appear on the market around July, but varieties such as Hosui, Twentieth Century, and Niita appear around the peak season in August and September.
The members of the tour were amazed by the deliciousness of Japanese fruits
What is special about pear cultivation in Japan is that all the unnecessary buds and flowers, and even unwanted fruit are removed before the harvest season. By doing so, the trees nutrients are not wasted, and large, well-formed pears grow. On this tour, we experienced the harvest that is the culmination of one whole year’s hard work!
Unlike pears from western countries, Japanese pears do not need to ripen after harvesting and are shipped immediately after picking. So harvest season is the best time to eat them. In this fruit hunting tour, we tasted freshly picked fruit and the buyers who tried them spontaneously exclaimed “delicious!”
This is how the finest fruit are selected! The secret of the fruit sorting process
Immediately after picking, the pears are taken to the sorting plant, where they are classified by quality and grade using both machines and the human eye.
First, the pears are taken out of the crates and those with large scratches or irregular shapes are rejected by hand. Then the pears that passed the first selection stage are sent to the conveyor belt. The mechanism of sorting pears according to size while they move along the conveyor belt, and for automatically closing the boxes that are moving on the rollers are masterpieces of automation engineering!
The greenhouse management and temperature control for producing delicious melons
Shizuoka Prefecture has the largest acreage of melon greenhouses, the biggest melon harvest, and the highest shipment volume in Japan!
The melons here are special with beautiful, raised mesh on the skins and a rich scent and are full of juice. One of the varieties, Earl's Favorite, a type of muskmelon, is popular as a gift with its smooth texture that melts in your mouth. Another variety cultivated here is the Shizuoka Crown Melon, said to be the best high-grade melon.
In Japan, people usually think of greenhouses as long tunnels of vinyl, but the greenhouses in Shizuoka Prefecture called three-quarter type greenhouse, made of glass and specifically designed for melon cultivation. The glass allows more sunlight in than plastic greenhouses, so that all the melon leaves are exposed to light, and the temperature inside the greenhouse is carefully regulated. The greenhouses at farm in Fukuroi city visited on the tour are kept at 28~32 ° C during the day and 18~23 ° C at night.
What makes Earl's Favorite distinctive is its’ T-shaped vine stalk, and its’ fine mesh of veins on the skin..
The T-shaped stalk is proof that only one fruit was produced, benefitting from all the nutrition of one plant. The best melon among the Earl's Favorite, the king of fruits, is called the “Crown Melon”
The fine, dense mesh is also evidence of a delicious, fleshy melon. The farmers take care of every individual melone during cultivation to make a beautiful mesh!
The buyers just kept saying, “It must be so delicious!”
During this visit, the Malaysian buyers were overwhelmed by the processes and precise management of Japanese fruit cultivation. These farms and the fruit sorting process underpin the deliciousness and safety of fruit from Japan! It is definitely worth trying to buy Japanese fruit at the local department store, supermarket, or specialty shop.
*Article supervised and cooperated by Tokyo Seika Co., Ltd.
Sponsored by Japan Fruit and Vegetables Export Promotion Council
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