Dekopon

Dekopon (デコポン?) is a seedless and highly sweet citrus fruit, a hybrid between Kiyomi and ponkan , developed in Japan in 1972 . While dekopon was originally a brand name, it has become a genericized trademark and it is used to refer to all brands of the fruit; the generic name is shiranuhi or shiranui (不知火?). Dekopon is quite distinctive due to its sweet taste, large size and the large protruding bump on the top of the fruit.

Names

Its name is most likely derived from 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 dekopon was a trade mark 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 were marketed as hiropon. However after an agreement whereby anyone can use the name dekopon if they pay a fee and meet certain quality standards, the name "dekopon" is used for products from anywhere in Japan.

Dekopon does not have a registration name because it was not registered because of its bump which at that time was considered to be ill-shape and its difficulty in reduction of acid.

Cultivation

The fruits are usually grown in large greenhouses to keep them at a constant temperature, and are harvested from December to February (winter in Japan), while 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 lower while the sugar levels increase, to make a more appealing taste for the market. Only products with sugar level above 13°Bx and citric acid below 1.0% can be sold with the name dekopon.




Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dekopon


See Also: Flora, online flowers, flower arrangement