I get the impression that it is relatively large among Tangor oranges. The size that can be wrapped in a woman’s hands is wonderful. The peel is orange to dark orange, the surface is smooth and beautiful, and the outer skin is thin and firm with no floating skin. It has a medium fragrance resembling Angkor Orange or Marcot Orange, and is usually ripened in February. The flesh is dark orange, the funnel is thin, the flesh is soft and juicy, and the number of seeds is small at 0-5. Parthenocarpy (a phenomenon in which only the ovary develops without fertilization and does not form seeds, producing seedless fruit) is also strong.
A breed born in Nagasaki that was registered with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in October 2001. Compared to regular unshu mandarin oranges, this superior produce has a thinner outer skin and inner skin, allowing for a deeper, juicy pulp. Because the skin is thin, it has a strong aroma. It is characterized by a high sugar content by leaving the fruit on the tree from December to February, when the weather becomes severely cold. However, the setoka oranges grown in the Atlantic Sea are vulnerable to the cold and must be protected against the cold. As a countermeasure against the cold, it seems that each fruit is covered with a bag to protect it. In addition, he is particular about the soil, and seems to use organic fertilizers to grow in nutrient-rich soil. It’s a lot of hard work, but it seems that the harvest takes place from February to March. They don’t ship them immediately after harvesting, but instead store them in a cool warehouse to adjust the balance between acidity and sweetness before shipping.
Naka-Okute citrus ‘setoka mikan’ seems to produce a certain amount of low-sugar, high-acid, slightly softened fruit mainly in greenhouse cultivation. Greenhouse-grown “setomikan” are often sold individually as high-quality fruits, and such low-quality fruits are subject to complaints from consumers. This disorder is called “fruit malacia”, and the fact that the National Agriculture and Food Research Organization conducted research to elucidate its characteristics and the pattern of its occurrence is probably a great achievement. In addition, it seems that measures to prevent shipment of malacia fruit have been sufficiently communicated.