Farmers began shipping ornamental square watermelons in a western Japan city on Tuesday, with around 400 expected to be delivered through mid-July for about 10,000 yen each.
The cube-shaped fruit, a specialty of Zentsuji, Kagawa Prefecture, has little sweetness and is unsuitable for eating. Its unusual appearance, however, has made it popular as a summer decoration.
The watermelons are shaped into about 18-centimeter cubes by being grown in transparent square containers with metal frames once they reach a certain size.
A local growers' group developed the watermelon about 50 years ago in an effort to produce fruit that would fit more easily inside refrigerators. Seven farms currently grow the cubic melons.
Producers and other workers gathered at a collection center in the morning to check the shape of each watermelon before packing them into boxes.
"The crop has turned out well this year," said grower Toshiyuki Yamashita, 78. "I hope people will feel that summer has arrived when they see the watermelons."
© KYODO
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NorwegianboyEE
So a ornamental piece that quickly decays?
sakurasuki
At the end, it just a water mellon.
Anyone can really grow that shape water mellon.
https://www.independent.co.uk/property/house-and-home/how-to-grow-a-square-watermelon-and-save-euro-50-1959449.html
OssanAmerica
Very cool, but does the world really need square watermelons?
Has to be right up there with cheese flavored dog food.
Aly Rustom
The cube-shaped fruit, a specialty of Zentsuji, Kagawa Prefecture, has little sweetness and is unsuitable for eating.
And yet sells for 10,000 yen? I'll pass
Negative Nancy
Don't play with your food. What an extravogant waste. This horrible idea makes it into the press every single year
kohakuebisu
I didn't realize they were inedible. Seems a bit pointless using all that effort and chemicals to grow them. Anything that visibly perfect will use lots of pesticide.
You can make edible decorative apples by placing templates on them and blocking sunlight from ripening that part of the apple. It is common for growers to place bags over individual apples to avoid pests, so they will handling individual fruit on the tree anyway.