Melon production in Ibaraki Prefecture is mainly semi-forcing cultivation, which is shipped from late April to June, and is cultivated without heating in a vinyl greenhouse. Although it is kept warm by multiple coatings of lining curtains and tunnels, it is easily affected by cold and unseasonable weather because it is not heated, and in the cropping type harvested from late April to May, the quality due to small fruits and insufficient sugar content. The decline seems to be an issue. Therefore, we are developing varieties with the goal of breeding with excellent fruit enlargement, stable sugar content and quality even in the cropping type harvested from late April to May, and cultivate the Ibaraki prefecture original variety “Ibaraki King Melon”. It seems that Ibaraki’s original varieties have been selected by combining the high breeding techniques of Ibaraki prefecture, spending more than 10 years, and crossing over 400 ways.
It seems that the sugar content of melon does not increase even if it is ripened. So when it comes to sweetness, it seems to be the same no matter when you eat it, whether it’s hard or soft. There is no doubt that you can eat it when you have the texture you like. However, when it is freshly harvested, the edges of the skin are still hard, and it seems that there are many inedible parts. There are quite a few people who don’t like the overripe taste of melons, and consumers say that they don’t miss the time to eat. Also, it seems better to ripen at room temperature without putting it in the refrigerator, but it seems that fermentation will start if it is overripe. I’ve heard that it’s usually about 5 days after harvesting.
Ibaraki is a green-meat melon with a mesh, which is an original variety of Ibaraki prefecture. Research and development has been carried out from 2003 to 5 years with the goal of cultivating varieties with excellent fruit enlargement and stable sugar content and quality, which are suitable for cropping from late April to May every year. It seems. Speaking of melons, the “net melons” with a mesh on the surface are impressive, and the image of luxury products remains strong, but due to breeding and advances in cultivation techniques, net melons that were previously cultivated in glass greenhouses are also pipe greenhouses. It seems that it has become possible to cultivate it in Japan and it is now available at a reasonable price.