Japan has wide variety of agricultural products in each season. Different cultivars of each crop make the variety of the food even more rich. Interestingly, taste, nutrition and even agronomic characteristic differ depending on a cultivar even if it is of a same crop. This background results in today's high quality agricultural products with interesting characteristics in Japan.
 February:OiC Berry |
NARO played its own part in the contribution to rich variety of Japanese agricultural product. A good example is the famous apple cultivar "Fuji", developed in 1959.It is sweet and juicy, with a very long shelf life. "Fuji" is the most commonly grown apple in the world after more than 50 years from its birth. 1959 was also the year of the birth to a Japanese pear cultivar "Kohsui".The cultivation land of "Kohsui" and its offspring, "Hohsui" counts for two-thirds of the total cultivation area of Japanese pears in the country. Soybean cultivar "Fukuyutaka" and sweet potato "Beniazuma" have largest cultivated land in Japan within each crop although its name tends to be remembered less by people than fruits. However, newly developed cultivars usually need to be adapted to different environment of each part of the country in terms of growing of the seedlings and cultivation techniques. Similarly, the cultivars developed by NARO also experienced a long time to become widespread and now they are very popular. Now let us introduce you some examples of recently developed cultivars by NARO. Wheat cultivar "Yumechikara" contains much gulten and it's good for cultivation in Hikkaiddo, Northern Japan. |
 March:Setoka |
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High quality bread made from fully domestic wheat is possible by mixing "Yumechikara" with conventional cultivar (Japanese self-sufficiency rate of the wheat for bread making was only 1% in 2006, according to MAFF). Rice cultivar "Nikomaru" grows well resulting in steady yield and quality even under high temperature. At first, it was sold as a product which adapts well to global warming, but its taste was also awarded in many competitive shows. Sweet potato "Beniharuka" contains much maltose and has characteristic of decent sweetness. Some other cultivars are especially great for gift. Seven pieces of strawberry "OiCberry" contains vitamin C necessary enough for a day. Citrus "Setoka" has beautiful appearance and sweet taste. Muscat-type grape "Shine Muscat" is edible even with skin. Chestnut "Porotan" has easy-to-peel astringent skin. With some of these cultivars mentioned above we made "NARO Recommended Varieties calendar 2014". Please have it on your side and enjoy the cultivar in each season! (Some cultivars are accessible all year round.) |
 July:Yumechikara |
 November:Beniharuka |
