Breeding and Characteristics of the Japanese Radish Cultivar ‘Akinoushi-39’ with Hard Flesh, Suitable for Pickles

Abstract

We have bred a new radish cultivar called ‘Akinoushi-39’, which is an F₁ hybrid of two lineages derived from the cultivar ‘Yamagata’. With its hard flesh, ‘Akinoushi-39’ is suitable for making Iburi-takuan-zuke (smoked daikon pickles), which is a traditional dish of Akita Prefecture. ‘Akinoushi-39’ has a number of characteristics that make it suitable for large-scale cultivation. It has high scores for uniformity, it rarely develops pithiness and cavitation, and its average production-to-sales rate is 95%. In 2012, the total cultivation area of the cultivar was approximately 20 ha.