Harvesting of the branded taro "Iyo Bijin" has begun in Shikokuchuo City, Ehime Prefecture, which has the highest production of taro in the Chushikoku region.
"Iyo Bijin" is a taro developed by Ehime prefecture and branded by the local JA. It has a beautiful bale-shaped roundness, a pure white cross section, and a sticky texture.
Harvesting begins at this time of year every year, and in the field of Mr. Akisada Bito in the city, who has been working on production for nearly 40 years, after cutting short leaves and stems that have grown to a height of about 1.5 meters, they are turned into taro lumps with a tractor. I dug up the stalk that had become, and broke the stalk into small pieces to harvest.
In the eastern part of Ehime prefecture, a strong wind called "Yamaji-fu" is blown by the foehn phenomenon, but the potatoes that grow underground are not easily affected by such locally blown wind.
Mr. Bito said, "I have grown taro carefully and made taro that everyone can confidently recommend. I recommend eating it with vinegared miso Dengaku or mixing it with salad as a cosmetological food."
The potatoes are sorted by grade at the fruit sorting plant and shipped mainly to the Kansai region.
According to JA, in recent years, the recognition of "Iyo Bijin" has increased even outside the prefecture, and the number of producers in the city is increasing year by year, saying that it is traded at a relatively high price, so this is about 25% from last year. It means that we are aiming to ship a large amount of 5000 tons.