Product Summary (Registration No.173)

Registration No.173 米良糸巻大根

Registered name (Transcription) : 米良糸巻大根（Mera Itomaki Daikon）
Reference information : Mera Itomaki Daikon（Japanese white radish）

Category of product

Class 1 : Agricultural product (Japanese white radish(Daikon)) 

Production Area

Nishimera Village, Koyu County, Miyazaki Prefecture

Registered Group

Mera Itomaki Daikon Association

Characteristics

Mera Itomaki Daikon is a native variety of daikon that has long been cultivated and passed down through generations in Nishimera Village, Koyu District, Miyazaki Prefecture. It has a distinctive appearance, with a short, thick, spindle-shaped root whose white-based or red-based skin is marked by multiple reddish-purple transverse stripes that resemble threads wound around it. The flesh is dense and does not easily fall apart during cooking, while its texture is tender, similar to that of a turnip. It has a pronounced sweetness, with a sugar content of approximately 6 degrees, about 2 degrees higher than that of the aokubi daikon commonly available on the market.

Link with the Production Area

Mera Itomaki Daikon grows well with almost no fertilizer or pesticides and has been cultivated as one of the important crops suited to slash-and-burn agriculture on sloping land in hilly and mountainous areas. Although production has now shifted to permanent fields, it continues to be produced without interruption as a traditional vegetable of the region. To preserve the characteristics inherited from this native variety, including its distinctive appearance and eating quality, producers have saved their own seed using line selection and a traditional cultivation method known as suemoto.