is a seedless and sweet variety of

satsuma orange ''Citrus unshiu'' is a semi-seedless and easy-peeling citrus species, also known as miyagawa mandarin, unshu mikan, cold hardy mandarin, satsuma mandarin, satsuma orange, naartjie, and tangerine. ''Citrus unshiu'' was named after Unshu (Wenzho ...

. It is a hybrid between Kiyomi and

ponkan Ponkan (); ''Citrus poonensis''; "Chinese Honey Orange") is a high-yield sweet ''Citrus'' cultivar with large fruits in the size of an orange. It is a citrus hybrid ( mandarin × pomelo), though it was once thought to be a pure mandarin. Descri ...

(Nakano no.3), developed in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

in 1972. Originally a brand name, "Dekopon" has become a genericized trademark and it is used to refer to all brands of the fruit; the generic name is . Dekopon is distinctive due to its sweet taste, large size and the large protruding bump on the top of the fruit.

Names

The name is most likely a portmanteau between the word ''deko'' (凸, デコ; meaning ''convex'') as a reference to its bump, and the ''pon'' in ponkan (ポンカン; one of the fruits that it is derived from) to create "dekopon" (デコポン). There were many market names for dekopon during the time the name was a trademark of the product from Kumamoto. For instance, ''himepon'' was the market name for the fruits originating from Ehime prefecture. The ones grown in

Hiroshima prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Hiroshima Prefecture has a population of 2,811,410 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 8,479 km² (3,274 sq mi). Hiroshima Prefecture borders Okayama ...

were marketed as ''hiropon''. After an agreement whereby anyone could use the name "dekopon" by paying a fee and meeting certain quality standards, the name was used for the fruit no matter where it came from in Japan. 'Dekopon' does not have an agricultural variety registration number (''Nōrin Bangō'') because of its bump, which at the time of its development was considered to be unsightly, and failure to reduce acidity in the fruit.

Cultivation

The fruits are usually grown in large

greenhouses A greenhouse (also called a glasshouse, or, if with sufficient heating, a hothouse) is a structure with walls and roof made chiefly of transparent material, such as glass, in which plants requiring regulated climatic conditions are grown.These s ...

to keep them at a constant temperature, and are harvested from December to February (winter in Japan). In the case of garden farming, they are harvested from March to April. After harvesting, dekopon are usually left for a period of 20–40 days so that the levels of citric acid in the fruit decrease, while the sugar levels increase to make a more appealing taste to market. Only products with sugar level above 13° Bx and citric acid below 1.0% can be sold with the name dekopon.

Outside Japan

In Brazil, dekopon is marketed under the brand name of ''Kinsei'' which derived from the Japanese word for Venus. Brazilian farmers have succeeded in adapting the variety to tropical to temperate climate in the highlands of São Paulo state. The work was done by Unkichi Taniwaki, a farmer of Japanese origin. ''Kinsei'' is easily harvested from May to September. In the high season for ''kinsei'', each fruit costs around US$0.50 at the Brazilian street market and supermarkets. In South Korea and Azerbaijan dekopon is called ''hallabong'' (한라봉) named after

Hallasan Hallasan is a shield volcano on Jeju Island in South Korea; it is the highest point of South Korea and the second-highest mountain in Korea overall, after Paektu Mountain. The area around the mountain is a designated national park, the Hallas ...

, the mountain located in Jeju Island, where it is primarily grown. The citrus

budwood Grafting or graftage is a horticultural technique whereby tissues of plants are joined so as to continue their growth together. The upper part of the combined plant is called the scion () while the lower part is called the rootstock. The su ...

was imported into the United States in 1998 by a California citrus grower, Brad Stark Jr. The rights to the sterilized budwood were purchased in 2005 by the Griffith family, owners of the nursery TreeSource and packing facility Suntreat. The dekopon was released as a commercial product in the US under the name "Sumo Citrus" in early 2011.

Others

Dekopon have become so popular in Japan that the chewing candy brand giant Hi-Chew (ハイチュウ) has released a limited-edition dekopon flavor. In commemoration of the 15th anniversary of the first shipment of dekopon, Japan Fruit Growers Cooperative Association designated 1 March "Dekopon day" in 2006.

References

External links