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Yubari King

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Cucumis melo 'Yubari King'
Section of a fresh Yūbari King melon
GenusCucumis
SpeciesC. melo
Hybrid parentageCucumis melo
Earl's Favourite × Burpee's "Spicy" Cantaloupe
Cultivar'Yubari King?'
OriginYūbari, Hokkaidō, Japan

The Yubari King (夕張メロン, Yūbari Meron, Yūbari melon) is a cantaloupe cultivar farmed in greenhouses in Yūbari, Hokkaido, a small city close to Sapporo.[1]

The Yubari King is a hybrid of two other cantaloupe cultivars: Earl's Favourite and Burpee's "Spicy" Cantaloupe.[2] The hybrid's scientific name is Cucumis melo L. var. reticulatus Naud. cv. Yubari King.

Six Yubari King melons packed in cardboard for transport

A top-grade melon is to be perfectly round and have an exceptionally smooth rind. A portion of the stem, which is snipped with scissors, is left on top for aesthetic appeal.[3] Some Japanese people present Yubari King melons as gifts during Chūgen (中元).[4]

At a Japanese auction in 2008, two Yubari King melons sold together for ¥2.5 million.[5] In 2016, Konishi Seika, a fruit and vegetable market in Amagasaki, bought a pair of Yubari King melons at auction with a winning bid of ¥3 million.[6][7][8] In 2019 Tokyo-based Pokka Sapporo Food & Beverage Ltd bought a pair of Yubari melons at auction for the highest recorded price of ¥5 million.[9][10]

References

  1. ^ "Yubari: Japan's Melon Kingdom". Sake-Drenched Postcards. Retrieved 2017-07-28.
  2. ^ "Yubari Melon". Made in Japan: 100 Best Products. Kansai Matsusin. Retrieved 2017-07-28.
  3. ^ Shah, Dhiram (15 May 2007). "Japan's Cadillac of melons Yubari melons fetches record 2 million yen". Fareastgizmos. Retrieved 2010-11-04.
  4. ^ "Japon: le boeuf de Kobe et le melon de Yubari désormais protégés par un label". L'Express (in French). Groupe L'Express. 22 December 2015. Retrieved 2017-07-28.
  5. ^ Hosaka, Tomoko A. (15 May 2009). "Slump hits Japan's most expensive melons". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-05-07. Retrieved 2011-07-11.
  6. ^ 夕張メロン初競り　過去最高２玉３００万円. 日テレNEWS24 (video) (in Japanese). Nippon News Network. 26 May 2016. Retrieved 2016-05-26.
  7. ^ "夕張メロン初競り 過去最高２玉３００万円". Livedoor (in Japanese). Line Corporation. 26 May 2016. Retrieved 2016-05-26.
  8. ^ "会社概要" [Company Profile]. konishi524.net (in Japanese). Konishj-syouten. Retrieved 2017-07-28.
  9. ^ Shimbun, The Yomiuri. "Pair of Yubari melons fetch record ¥5 million at Sapporo auction". The Japan News. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
  10. ^ "Pair of Yubari melons fetch record ¥5 million at season's first auction in Hokkaido". The Japan Times Online. 2019-05-24. ISSN 0447-5763. Retrieved 2019-05-24.

Further reading

  • Nakata, Eijiro; Staub, Jack E.; López-Sesé, Ana I.; Katzir, Nurit (2005). "Genetic Diversity of Japanese Melon Cultivars (Cucumis melo L.) as Assessed by Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA and Simple Sequence Repeat Markers". Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution. 52 (4). Springer Science+Business Media: 405–19. doi:10.1007/s10722-005-2258-9. S2CID 44226056.


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