‘Aurastar’ is a new citrus cultivar that was released in 2012 by the Okitsu Citrus Research Station, National Institute of Fruit Tree Science (presently the Division of Citrus Research, Institute of Fruit Tree and Tea Science), National Agriculture and Research Organization. ‘Aurastar’ originated from a cross between ‘H・FD−1’(an intergeneric hybrid between Citrus and Poncirus species) and cv.‘Banpeiyu’. This cross was made in 1994 in an effort to breed a variety with high resistance against citrus tristeza virus (CTV) and high auraptene content. ‘Aurastar’was registered as No.20789 under the Seed and Seedlings Law of Japan on May 24, 2012. The tree grows vigorously and is upright in growth habit. The average fruit weight is 400-450g on average and the fruit shape is oblate. The rind is yellow-orange in color, 14mm in thickness, and its peelability is difficult. The fruit surface texture is rough. The flesh is yellow in color, and at maturity (in March) the brix and acid values of the juice are approximately 11°and 2.5 g/100ml, respectively. The seeds are many and monoembryonic. The smell derived from Poncirus is almost none. The tree is resistant to citrus scab, slightly susceptible to citrus canker, and highly resistant to CTV. The flesh and peel contain high auraptene contents of 0.75 and 0.81mg/g dry weight, respectively. Since the fruit matures in middle to late March, it is desirable to cultivate it in area with relatively warm winters.

‘Haruhi’ is a new citrus cultivar that was released in 2011 by the Okitsu Citrus Research Station, National Institute of Fruit Tree Science (presently the Division of Citrus Research, Institute of Fruit Tree and Tea Science), National Agriculture and Research Organization, Japan. ‘Haruhi’ originated from a cross between Kankitsu Okitsu No.46[‘Sweet spring’ (Citrus unshiu Marcow. × C. hassaku hort. ex Tanaka) × ‘Trovita’ orange (C.sinensis Osbeck)] and ‘Awa orange’[hyuganatsu (C. tamurana hort. From 2001, when it was designated Kankitsu Okitsu No.55, it was included in the ninth citrus selection national trial, which conducted at 28 experimental station in Japan. The cultivar was ultimately selected and released as ‘Haruhi’ in 2009, and was registered as No. 20679 under the Plant Variety Protection and Seed Act of Japan on March 18, 2011. The rind is yellow-orange in color, about 3mm in thickness, with a moderately smooth surface. Peeling is moderately easy. The soluble solids content and acidity in the ripe fruit are about 13% and 1.0g/100mL, respectively. The average number of seeds per fruit is 14. The fruit of ‘Haruhi’ generally mature after late January in the Kyushu region and after late February in the Kanto and Tokai region of Japan. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries’ guidelines, it is desirable to cultivate ‘Haruhi’ in areas where the temperature does not fall below ‒3℃ in winter, to avoid cold injury to the fruit. Excessive fruiting results in a tendency toward smaller fruit and may weaken or wither the trees. ‘Haruhi’ has a medium degree of alternative bearing, and thus it is necessary to carry out proper fruit set management. Summary ex Tanaka) × ’Trovita’ orange]. This cross was made in 1991 at Okitsu Branch, Fruit Tree Research Station, Shizuoka, Japan. The tree has medium vigor, and a spreading shape. The average fruit weight is about 150g and the fruits are oblate in shape.

‘Hoshiakari’ is a new multiple disease-resistant cultivar for black spot and pear scab of Japanese pear (Pyrus pyrifolia Nakai), released in 2014 by the NARO Institute of Fruit Tree Science (NIFTS), National Agriculture and Food Research Organization. The cultivar was developed from a cross between 314-32 (‘Kinchaku’ × ‘Hosui’) and ‘Akiakari’ in 1997, was selected as a promising tree in 2006, and included in the 8th national trial as ‘Nashi Tsukuba 56’ from 2007, which was conducted at 37 experimental stations in 36 prefectures throughout Japan. The cultivar was ultimately selected and released as ‘Hoshiakari’ in 2014, and was registered as No. 24373 under the Plant Variety Protection and Seed Act of Japan on June 19, 2015. ‘Hoshiakari’ trees showed moderately weak vigor in the national trial. They produced moderate number of shoots, moderate number of fruit spurs, and moderately large number of axillary flower buds. The flowering time of ‘Hoshiakari’ was April 13, one and five days earlier than those of ‘Hosui’ and ‘Kosui’, respectively. The harvest time was September 2, approximately 10 days later than that of ‘Kosui’, but one week earlier than that of ‘Hosui’, in the national trial. ‘Hoshiakari’ shows resistance to both black spot and pear scab diseases, and exhibits no significant pest problems under the standard spraying program. ‘Hoshiakari’ is cross-compatible with other leading cultivars as its S-genotype is S₅S_k, which is different from those of other leading cultivars. Fruit shape of ‘Hoshiakari’ is round to broad elliptical and uniformity of fruit is moderately bad to medium. Fruit weight averaged approximately 400 g in the national trial, comparable to that of ‘Kosui’ but smaller than that of ‘Hosui’. Flesh firmness of ‘Hoshiakari’ was 4.6 lbs, softer than ‘Kosui’. The soluble solid content averaged 13.5%, higher than that of ‘Kosui’ and ‘Hosui’. The juice pH averaged 5.2, lower than that of ‘Kosui’ but higher than that of ‘Hosui’. The eating quality of ‘Hoshiakari’ was comparable or superior than that of ‘Kosui’ and ‘Hosui’. ‘Hoshiakari’ is expected to be cultivated as a multiple disease-resistant cultivar, which is expected to require fewer applications and lower amounts of fungicides, compared to other leading cultivars. Summary

‘Narumi’ is a new self-compatible cultivar of Japanese pear (Pyrus pyrifolia Nakai) released in 2015 by the NARO Institute of Fruit Tree Science (NIFTS), National Agriculture and Food Research Organization. The cultivar originated from a cross between 269-21 (‘Hosui’ × ‘Osa-nijisseiki’) and 162-29 (‘Niitaka’ × ‘Hosui’) in 1996, was selected as a promising tree in 2006, and was included in the 8th national trial as ‘Nashi Tsukuba 57’ from 2007, which was conducted at 37 experimental stations in 36 ‘Narumi’ trees showed medium vigor in the national trial. They produced moderate number of shoots, moderately large number of fruit spurs, and moderate number of axillary flower buds. The flowering time of ‘Narumi’ was April 14, the same time as ‘Hosui’. The harvest time was September 10, the same time as ‘Hosui’ in the national trial. It was resistant to black spot, but susceptible to scab. ‘Narumi’ shows self-compatibility and its fruit set by open pollination was high, suggesting it is expected to reduce the labor required for artificial pollination. The S-genotype of ‘Narumi’ is S₄ ^sm S₅. Pollen of ‘Narumi’ is incompatible with 4.9,higher than that of ‘Hosui’. The occurrence of both core rot and water core was minor, which is comparable to that of ‘Hosui’ and less than that of ‘Hosui’, respectively. ‘Narumi’ is expected to be cultivated as self-compatible, which is expected to reduce the labor required for artificial pollination. Summary prefectures throughout Japan. The cultivar was ultimately selected and released as ‘Narumi’ in 2015 and was registered as No. 25276 under the Plant Variety Protection and Seed Act of Japan on July 6, 2016. S₄S₅ and S₁S₅ S-genotype cultivars. Fruit shape of ‘Narumi’ is round. Fruit weight averaged 532 g in the national trial, larger than that of ‘Hosui’. Flesh firmness of ‘Narumi’ was 4.7 lbs, and the soluble solids content averaged 12.9%, both the same as that of ‘Hosui’. The juice pH averaged

　'Porosuke' is an early maturing and easy pellicle peeling (EPP) new cultivar of Japanese chestnut (Castanea crenata Sieb. et Zucc.) released in 2016 by the Institute of Fruit Tree and Tea Science, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NIFTS) in Japan. ‘Porosuke’ originated from a cross between ‘550-40’ [290-5 (Moriwase × Kairyoutoyotama) × Kunimi] and 'Tanzawa' in 2004 at Tsukuba, NIFTS. It was selected in 2008 and subjected to the 7th national trial on chestnut as Kuri Tsukuba 41 from 2009, conducted at 15 experimental stations in 14 prefectures in Japan. It was registered as No.26828 under the Plant Variety Protection and Seed Act of Japan on May 29, 2018. The tree vigor is medium and tree form is intermediate between upright and spreading. The full bloom date of female flowers averaged June 3, at the same time as that for ‘Tanzawa’ and ‘Porotan’ in the national trial. The nut of ‘Porosuke’ ripened around late August to early September, and the harvest date averaged Sep. 2, earlier than that of ‘Porotan’, at the same time as that of ‘Tanzawa’. The yield of 6-7 years old trees was as high as those in ‘Tanzawa’ and 'Porotan'. The incidences of nut polyembryony, pericarp splitting and decayed nut in ‘Porosuke’ were comparable to those traits in ‘Tanzawa’. Injured nut by insect pests occurred frequently as in ‘Tanzawa’ and ‘Porotan’. Nut weight of ’Porosuke’ averaged about 19g, smaller than ‘Tanzawa’ and ‘Porotan’ nuts in the national trial. The nut uniformity was good. The specific gravity of ‘Porosuke’ nuts was comparable to those of ‘Tanzawa’ and ‘Porotan’ nuts. The kernels of ‘Porosuke’ nuts were yellow in color, medium in sweetness and flavor, medium-mealy in texture, and of good eating quality, comparable to those of ‘Tanzawa’ and ‘Porotan’ nuts. The pellicle is easy to peel, comparable to that of ‘Porotan’ chestnuts. ’Porosuke’ and ‘Porotan’ is cross-compatible reciprocally, therefore only EPP nuts are expected to be harvested from orchards, in which these two cultivars are planted. ‘Porosuke’ is expected to be cultivated as EPP cultivar, which extent supplying period of EPP nuts of Japanese chestnut than that of ‘Porotan’.

‘Grosz Krone’ is a tetraploid table grape cultivar with purplish black skin, resulted from a cross of ‘Fujiminori’ and ‘Aki Queen’ made in 1998. The original vine of ‘Grosz Krone’ was initially selected in 2002 in a vineyard at Akitsu, and was tested as selection Budou Akitsu 30 under the 13th Grape Selection National Trial initiated in 2010. It was released as ‘Grosz Krone’ in 2017, then registered as No. 28086 under The Plant Variety and Seedling Act of Japan in 2020. The vine vigor is strong. Sprouting and flowering times are 1 day and 2 days later than ‘Kyoho’ in the national trial. Time taken to trim flower clusters was the same as ‘Kyoho’, but that to trim berries is shorter than ‘Kyoho’. Harvest time of seedless fruit is the same as ‘Kyoho’ but 4 days earlier than ‘Pione’. Berry weight averages 19 g, larger than ‘Kyoho’ and ‘Pione’ in seedless fruit production. Soluble solids concentration averages around 18.4 %, similar to those of ‘Kyoho’ and ‘Pione’. Titratable acidity averages 0.46 g/100 ml, significantly lower than that of ‘Kyoho’. Flavor is foxy. Berry skin cracking sometimes occurs depending on years and locations. Seedless berries can be produced by GA treatment, but streptomycin treatment before anthesis is needed for complete convert to seedless berries. Berry skin color is attractive purplish black. Berry skin shows good coloration compared to ‘Kyoho’ and ‘Pione’ even in warm region of south west districts in Japan. Therefore, ‘Grosz Krone’ is expected to be a suitable cultivar for adapting to warmer climate. Summary

To meet the increasing demand for domestically produced apples for processing, we investigated through simulation whether it was possible to cultivate apples to an annual yield of 8t/ 10a using columnar apple trees while reducing labor hours by more than 60%. Stable yields could be obtained every year by systematically shifting the year of fruiting and the year of nonfruiting for each row of trees utilizing the characteristics of alternative bearing in the columnar trees. When the trees were managed so that 3 or more fruitlets were left within a cluster without thinning, the trees would have a heavy crop load and be induced to alternative bearing cycles. It was estimated that even if the half of the trees in the orchard at a high planting density (570 trees/ 10a) did not bear fruit, the yield would be about 10t/ 10a. The fruit quality declined as the crop load increased, but the fruit weight and soluble solid content were maintained at 150g and 10 ºBrix, respectively, even after overfruiting. The harvesting time was shortened by collecting a large amount of fruit by dropping them onto a net spread under the canopy. It was estimated that annual labor hours could be reduced by more than 60% by omitting the fruit thinning and coloring operation and shortening the harvest time. The cultivation method in this study has great potential for apple production for processing because it is possible to increase the yield with labor-saving management.

In Japan, cultivars ‘Kober 5BB’ (Vitis berlandieri × Vitis riparia), ‘Riparia Gloire’ (V. riparia), and ‘101-14’ (V. riparia × Vitis rupestris) are used as rootstocks for table or wine grapes. As newly emerging viruses were detected from some mother rootstocks, elimination of viruses from the three cultivars was performed using thermotherapy and meristem culture. Among sixteen to eighteen clones obtained, we selected six clones each in the first screening by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Mixed RNA extracts from the six were analyzed by next-generation sequencing. No viruses were detected from all the clones, although some of them tested positive for viroids. Consequently, no viruses and viroids were detected from two to six clones of all the cultivars. The clones will be utilized as rootstocks for virus-free vines in Japan.

those under a conventional pesticide spraying program (conventional) and not sprayed with pesticides without mulching. The percentages of fruit cluster and leaf damage, caused by the grape plume moth (such as Nippoptilia vitis) and Illiberis tenuis, respectively, in grapevines not sprayed with pesticides were higher than those in the other two treatments. The percentages of fruit cluster and leaf damage caused by these pests in pesticide reduced grapevines were not different from those in conventional-sprayed grapevines. Few current shoots were damaged by grape borers in all the experimental treatments of grapevines, because current shoots infested by grape borers might be pruned during the winter. We concluded that in spur pruned grapevine ‘Shine Muscat’, the damage caused by minor insect pests was not injurious under the reduced pesticide spraying program using reflective sheet mulching and the conventional pesticide spraying program. Summary The percentages of fruit cluster, leaf, and current shoot damage caused by minor insect pests in spur pruned grapevine ‘Shine Muscat’ under a reduced pesticide spraying program using reflective sheet mulching (pesticide reduced) were compared with

In this study, we investigated leaf damage caused by slug caterpillars of the moth Scopelodes contractus in insecticide-free persimmon orchards. In the absence of predators, the number of leaves consumed by each colony of S. contractus was 211.1. Summary The number of leaves consumed by each colony of S. contractus in the presence of predators, such as the larvae of the ground beetle Parena cavipennis, was 47.2. Therefore, the present results indicate that leaf damage caused by S. contractus larvae could be reduced four-fold by the predatory larvae of P. cavipennis.