We examined the growth, yield and grain quality of ‘Koisomeshi’, a new rice cultivar bred for high yield, good eating and processing quality, in the western region of Japan from 2015 to 2018. Grain yield of ‘Koisomeshi’ reached 735 g m -², 13 % higher than that of normal cultivar ‘Hinohikari’ and was almost the same level of the high-yielding cultivar ‘Akidawara’. A large sink capacity with the large grain size, as well as a high harvest index at maturity, was suggested to enhance yield of this cultivar. Grain appearance quality of ‘Koisomeshi’ was almost the same with that of ‘Hinohikari’ and was better than ‘Akidawara’. As for the growth traits, ‘Koisomeshi’ showed longer seedling length and lower numbers of tiller emergence than those in ‘Hinohikari’.

We developed a high yielding rice cultivar with high amylose content, which we named ‘Ajianokaori’, from a cross between a high-amylose content line, ‘Hokuriku 207’ (Koshinokaori), and a high-yielding line, ‘Kanto 239’ (Yamadawara). In 2018, we applied to have this new cultivar officially registered by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery. The maturity of ‘Ajianokaori’ is similar to that of ‘Akidawara’. Thus, ‘Ajianokaori’ plants can grow in the Hokuriku and Kanto regions as well as the southern and western areas. The culm length, panicle length and panicle number of ‘Ajianokaori’ are slightly less than those of ‘Akidawara’, The yielding ability of ‘Ajianokaori’ is similar to ‘Akidawara’, and 20% and 25% higher than that of ‘Koshinokaori’ under normal and high fertilization conditions, respectively. The ‘Ajianokaori’ 1000-grain weight is 26 to 27 g, and the appearance of ‘Ajianokaori’ grains is inferior to that of the ‘Akirawara’ and ‘Koshinokaori’ grains. The amylose content of ‘Ajianokaori’ rice is 30% to 35%, and the rice is not gelatinized in urea solution, which is similar to ‘Koshinokaori’ rice. There is no difference between the palatability of rice noodles made with ‘Ajianokaori’ and ‘Koshinokaori’. The field resistance of ‘Ajianokaori’ to leaf blast is “moderately strong” and that to panicle blast is “weak”. ‘Ajianokaori’ is susceptible to rice stripe disease. The resistance to bacterial leaf bright is “medium”, lodging resistance is “medium”, cold tolerance is “weak”, and sprouting resistance is “moderately strong”. Summary

A list of the specimens of foreign fruit flies preserved in the general collection of the Institute for Agro-Environmental Sciences, NARO is provided. It contains 171 specimens of 55 species from China, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand, including 80 specimens of 11 pest species, several specimens of poorly known species, and the holotype of Dacus (Zeugodacus) katoi Hardy, 1974. Scientific names and label data of the specimens are given with adult photographs of the species. They will be also available in the Insect Inventory Search Engine (https://insect-web.rad.naro.go.jp/).

To develop an IPM program that could be adopted in cherry tomato greenhouses with JAS organic certification, we investigated the pest species and the numbers of individuals on plants in certified organic greenhouses (area, 11 to 22 a) in Ibaraki Prefecture, central Japan, at 2-week intervals during the cultivation period in 2009–2013 and 2015–2019. The major pests were whiteflies (Trialeurodes vaporariorum, Bemisia tabaci), aphids (Aphis gossypii, Macrosiphum euphorbiae), and tomato rust mite (Aculops lycopersici). Periodic release of either or both of the parasitoid wasps, Encarsia formosa and Eretmocerus eremicus, suppressed whiteflies to the extent that the fruits were not substantially damaged. The aphid parasitoid Aphidius colemani was released against Aphis gossypii. However, release of A. colemani after pest occurrence could not control the aphids and resulted in infestation throughout the greenhouses in 2009 and 2010. A banker plant system using A. colemani was introduced in 2011 and has controlled the pest densities continuously to a low level since then. Macrosiphum euphorbiae was suppressed by using the aphid parasitoid, Aphelinus asychis, during all years except 2016. In 2016, the occurrence of M. euphorbiae immediately after planting in one of the greenhouses resulted in the failure of control by A. asychis and the cessation of cultivation in that greenhouse. This problem was caused by infestation of the nursery greenhouse with the pests. A work procedure to prevent the introduction of pests was adopted the following year. Although the percentage of plants damaged by tomato russet mite reached 20% or more from 2009 to 2011, from 2012 onward it became possible to control it by applying milbemectin emulsion, which is registered as a JAS-certified material. With these control measures against insect pests, the yield per 10 a, which was initially less than 2000 kg, reached 5000 kg in 2019. We present details of the IPM program established through these field practices. Summary

In this study, we investigated the effects of temperature, taste, and flavor on intraoral granular sensations produced by carrot puree and microcrystalline cellulose suspensions. We compared the texture profiles (hardness, cohesiveness, and adhesiveness measured by texture profile analysis) and sensory properties between control (20 °C without additives), low-temperature (10 °C without additives), high-temperature (60 °C without additives), granulated sugar-added (20 °C), and citric acid-added (20 °C) carrot puree samples prepared by homogenization at 2500, 5000, or 10000 rpm. The hardness and adhesiveness of the low-temperature samples were significantly higher than those of the control samples, but there was no difference in their granular sensation and smoothness. Among the low-homogenization samples, smoothness was significantly higher in the high temperature and granulated sugar-added samples. Next, using a microcrystalline cellulose suspension that facilitates perception of particles, we compared the level of perceived granular sensation between control (20 °C without additives), low-temperature (10 °C without additives), high-temperature (60 °C without additives), granulated sugar-added (20 °C), citric acid-added (20 °C), vanilla-flavored (20 °C), and lemon-flavored (20 °C) samples just after placing them in the mouth, while holding them in the mouth, and after swallowing. Flavor did not affect the perceived granular sensation, but this sensation was significantly reduced for the high-temperature and granulated sugar-added samples. The perceived granular sensation of the citric acid-added sample was significantly higher after swallowing compared to just after placing in the mouth. These findings indicate that use of high temperature and granulated sugar may result in a reduced granular sensation. They also suggest the necessity of considering the timing of such evaluations. Summary