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]
| Cucumis melo 'Yubari King' | |
|---|---|
 Section of a fresh Yūbari King melon | |
| Genus | Cucumis |
| Species | C. melo |
| Hybrid parentage | Cucumis melo Earl's Favourite × Burpee's "Spicy" Cantaloupe |
| Cultivar | 'Yubari King?' |
| Origin | Yūbari, Hokkaidō, Japan |
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.
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
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.