Strawberry Cultivar Usage on Tourist Farms in Japan

Abstract

Using questionnaire surveys, this study investigated cultivar usage and its relationship with several parameters on tourist farms in the Kanto, Shikoku, and Kyushu-Okinawa regions of Japan. From the results, in addition to picking and direct sales, Shikoku and Kyushu-Okinawa farms supplied fruits to other businesses. However, in all investigated regions, most of the tourist farms used four cultivars, including early flowering and high-yielding cultivars, as well as some late flowering and low-yielding cultivars. According to responses to questions on farm priorities, we concluded that farms use both early and late flowering cultivars to standardize the harvest time and fruit quality rather than to prolong the harvest time. Finally, farms in all regions focused on fruit quality, disease resistance, and continuous flowering. These characteristics are important in the breeding of suitable cultivars for tourist farms.