Japan: Reaching to the sky with strawberries

For 46 years in a row, Tochigi Prefecture has harvested the largest volume of strawberries in the nation, including its main Tochiotome variety. At the end of this year, full-scale shipments will begin of Sky Berry strawberries, a promising new addition to Tochigi’s lineup.

Shinichi Emata, recognized as the area’s finest producer by JA Zenno Tochigi, has planted Sky Berry strawberries in two of his 14 greenhouses in Kanuma in the prefecture, covering a total of 0.05 hectares.

“This strawberry has a fabulous trifecta of size, shape and flavor,” said Emata, 56.

The Strawberry Research Center of the Tochigi Prefectural Agricultural Experiment Station spent 17 years developing the Sky Berry variety, planting more than 100,000 plants in the process. It announced the new variety in 2011.

About twice as large as ordinary strawberries, Sky Berry strawberries also have a refreshing sweetness.

Tochigi Prefecture has made devoted efforts to improve their quality, including compiling a cultivation manual last year and holding study sessions for farmers. Eight quality rankings have been established, and particularly good strawberries will be sold as “premium products.”

Trial sales of Sky Berry strawberries grown in the 2014 season — from autumn 2013 to spring 2014 — saw them go for a maximum price of ¥8,400 for 12 strawberries (¥700 per berry). Staking its status as the home of Japanese strawberries, Tochigi Prefecture will take on the luxury strawberry market, currently dominated by Fukuoka Prefecture’s large Amao variety.

Source: the-japan-news.com