Ichikawa, a city east of Tokyo and one of Japan's leading pear-producing regions, is facing major challenges with the "Niitaka" variety. Prolonged high temperatures in recent summers have damaged harvests, causing skin splitting and blackening. This autumn, around 80% of the crop is expected to be unfit for shipment, and the local branch of the national agricultural association has warned that more growers may reduce Niitaka cultivation or switch to other varieties.
In late September, 69-year-old grower Kazuaki Arai was harvesting pears in Ichikawa's Kashiwai-machi area. "Of the Niitaka pears I picked the other day, only about 10% were good enough to ship. It's become difficult to fill gift orders, and with unstable shipments, market prices are also unstable," he said.
Niitaka is a late-season variety marketed from late September through October. The pears are valued for their soft texture, sweetness, mild acidity, and juiciness. With an average weight of 400 to 500 grams, they are commonly used as gifts. However, the thin skin makes them vulnerable to "sunburn" from high heat and to splitting when rain follows sunny conditions.
Arai, who also serves as an adviser to the Japan Agricultural Cooperatives Ichikawa branch (JA Ichikawa), said, "We already know it's too difficult to grow Niitaka pears. I want to switch to more heat-tolerant varieties, like Akimitsuki, a pear developed by the prefecture."
According to JA Ichikawa, 218 metric tons of Niitaka pears were shipped from Ichikawa in fiscal 2021, more than Kosui at 168 tons, Hosui at 165 tons, and Akizuki at 77 tons. Together, these four varieties make up about 80% of total shipments. After consecutive years of extreme heat, Niitaka shipments fell sharply, reaching only 27 tons in fiscal 2023. The 2024 figure was similar, and with a reduced cultivation area, the 2025 harvest is projected to fall further. Other varieties have not shown the same level of decline.
Niitaka cultivation began in Ichikawa about 50 years ago. Today, around 90% of the city's 200 pear growers cultivate Niitaka. Farmers have attempted mitigation through measures such as increasing leaf cover for shade and applying treatments to improve plant and soil resilience, but these approaches have not offset the impact of rising summer temperatures.
Kenji Muto, head of the economic center at JA Ichikawa, said, "We'd like to promote a switch to more heat-tolerant varieties, but each has its pros and cons, so it's hard to settle on just one. Niitaka also has thicker roots than other varieties, making replanting difficult." He added that the pear season, which previously lasted until mid-October, now largely finishes by the end of September.
Source: The Mainichi