SOME PROBLEMS AND THE POSSIBILITY OF FUTURE ON THE BLUEBERRY INDUSTRY IN JAPAN

Blueberry growing regions may be roughly divided into three zones in Japan. In the northern part (main growing prefecture; Hokkaido, Aomori, Iwate and Nagano), there was grown highbush blueberry, both highbush and rabbiteye blueberries were grown in the central part (Gunma and Chiba, Tokyo capital). While in the southern part (Hiroshima, Kumamoto and Kagoshima), there was grown mainly rabbiteye blueberry.

Some problems on the blueberry industry in Japan is summarized as follows:

1. Many growers have had lacks experience of blueberry growing.
2. Blueberry fruits mainly is used as the processing material than the table fruits.
3. The amount of imported blueberry fruit (cultivated and wild) is much more than the domestic production.
4. Maturation and picking season of main cultivars of blueberry fruits is under the rainy season (in June and July).

The main research work in concerned with were written below.

1. Variety test in highbush (about 30 cultivars) and rabbiteye (about 20 cultivars) blueberries to select of suitable cultivars for the condition of climate, soil and location.
2. Nitrogen nutrition and diagnosise of nutrient conditions, water and soil management.
3. Establishment of appropriate methods on the training and pruning.
4. Short-term storage for the keeping of shelf life in rainy season and mid summer.
5. Protected cultivation of highbush and rabbiteye blueberries.

The possibility of future on the blueberry industry in Japan will be according to the growers efforts to produce the high quality table fruit such as large size, beauty fruit color, fine fruit shape, higer content of soluble solid, lower acidity, and superior keeping quality and so on.

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