After more than a decade of testing, Malaysian farmers have been satisfied with the Japanese melon garden being massaged and listening to music in the hot country – creating an expensive fruit.
The first Japanese melons of the Mono company in Putrajaya, Malaysia on April 8, 2021. Photo: Reuters
Accordingly, the trio of farmers at Mono Premium Melon in Malaysia have switched to a completely new farming method – regularly massaging freshly beaned melon with cloth or soft gloves and listening to classical music.
This is the “tama-fuki” method, which is said to increase flavor and have a growth-stimulating effect on Japanese greenhouse-grown fruit.
Seh Cheng Siang, director and co-founder of Mono company in Putrajaya city, said: “Every Japanese melon that you see on our farm is like a work of art”.
This famous melon variety has been cultivated by a number of Japanese farmers over the last century in a special way to create melons that are prized for their equal taste and shape. Even in Japan, there are not many places to grow this specialty melon and the quantity is limited so they are only sold in high-end stores as luxury items.
However, after many attempts to cultivate high quality melon, the farmers were faced with the hot and humid tropical climate of Malaysia, a world far from more temperate conditions in Japan. .
The first melons of Mono company in Putrajaya, Malaysia on April 8, 2021. Photo: Reuters
Mr. Seh said: “We have to ensure optimal and accurate stages of nutrition, watering and fertilization, and have tested more than 10 types of melons of the same Japanese family, before when finding the best match ”.
Japanese melon (musk melon) features a perfectly rounded shape, with beautiful white veins emerging. The flesh of the melon is light green, fragrant and has a sugar level of over 14%, spreads evenly over the fruit, including near the stem.
After bringing melon seeds back from Japan, Malaysian farmers went to Japanese farms to learn about Malaysian farming methods and trials. They tried many times wrong to determine and find the optimal nutrient composition for melon plants.
And finally, after overcoming many obstacles, the first batch of 200 selected Mono melons was offered and sold out as soon as it was posted on the online store page.
Accordingly, the first Japanese melons produced in Malaysia were sold for 168 ringgit (40.70 USD) per fruit, about a third of the value of the native Japanese melon.
Elaine Chow, a customer, said: “It was great to know that our farmers were able to grow Japanese melon varieties in Malaysian soil.
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