"'Dekopon' is a highly sweet and expensive hybrid between ChungGyun mandarins and Ponkan that are grown in Japan and Korea, presumed to be first cultivated in the early 1990's. They have been increasingly common in the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo. "'Dekopon' fruit is quite distinctive due to its sweet taste, large size and to its quite large protruding bump on the top of the fruit. Its name is most likely derived from a Portmanteau between the kanji (deko; meaning 'uneven') as a reference to its protruding bump, and the 'Pon' in Ponkan (one of the fruits that it is derived from) to create 'Dekopon'.
"Due to both its size and sweetness, 'Dekopon' fruits are quite expensive. One fruit costs roughly Y750 (US$6.60). The fruits are usually grown in large greenhouses to keep them at a constant temperature, and are harvested during January (winter in Japan). After harvesting, 'Dekopon' fruits are usually left for a period of 20-40 days so that the levels of citric acid in the fruit lower while the sugar levels increase, to make a more appealing taste for the market.
"'Dekopon' fruits have become quite popular in Japan, with the chewing candy brand giant Hi-Chew even making a Dekopon flavour.
"There are many market names for 'Dekopon'. For instance, 'Dekopon' is the market name for the fruits originating from Kumamoto. The ones grown in Hiroshima are marketed as 'Kiyopon'. The ones grown and marketed in Korea are called 'Hallabong' named after Hallasan the mountain located in Jeju-do, where it is primarily grown.
"Brazilian farmers have succeeded in adapting the variety to tropical to temperate climate in the highlands of Sao Paulo state. The work is done by farmers of Japanese origins. 'Dekopon' is easily harvested from May to September. In the high season for 'Dekopon', each fruit costs around US$ 0.50 at the Brazilian street market and supermarkets.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dekopon
Note on IPR: This was originally imported as a proprietary introduction by B. Stark and J. Fisher. Permission was given on 10/22/2003 by B. Stark for inclusion of this in the Citrus Variety Collection (CVC). In August of 2006, Dr. T. Kahn, Curator of the CVC, received a communication from Mr. R. Smith, who informed her that rights to the 'Dekopon' had passed to Tree Source. After some discussion, Mr. Smith said that the 'Dekopon' could remaing in the field planting, but under no circumstances should it be distributed, looked at, or even thought about if at all possible. Since this renders it essentially dead to us, it was inactivated effective 08/01/2006. If for some bizarre reason, you simply must taste it, it is marketed under the name 'Sumo'. (RR Krueger, 01/2007)
It's baaack!