Japanese strawberry varieties are highly appreciated internationally for their delicious taste. However, they are quite soft, which poses problems in storage and transportation. They can also affected by diseases, which vary from region to region.
Sakata Seed Corporation started planning a strawberry breeding project in 2016, which it eventually launched in 2018. "Our goal is to breed varieties that offer a nice balance between the typical Japanese taste, shelf life, and the right disease resistances depending on the growing areas," Sakata stated.
In 2017, Sakata was authorized to sell seeds and seedlings of Yotsuboshi, an F1 seed strawberry developed by the Mie, Kagawa, and Chiba Prefectures and the Kyushu Okinawa Agricultural Research Center. The company mainly sold it in Canada and the United States, obtaining information on demand in each region.
Traditionally, producers around the world have used many strawberry varieties propagated from mother plants. However, vegetative propagation presents the following issues: (1) the effort needed to manage the mother plant and harvest the young plants, (2) the risk of diseases in the mother plant, and (3) restrictions on the young plants' transplantation season. To solve these issues, Sakata Seed Corporation is working on the development of F1 strawberry seed varieties (perennial bearing) that can be grown from seeds.
"We've already started production testing on a global scale. To further accelerate the movement towards marketing, we've recently started an activity that unifies research, production, and sales. Our entire company will work to market our F1 strawberry seed business," Sakata stated.
For more information:
Andrée Avogadri
Sakata Seed Corporation
Mob.: +33 788 869 324
andree.avogadri@sakata.eu
sakataiberica.com