Dekopon

Dekopon (デコポン) is a seedless and sweet variety of satsuma orange.

It is a hybrid between Kiyomi and ponkan (Nakano no. 3), developed in Japan in 1972.

Originally a brand name, "Dekopon" has become a genericized trademark and it is used to refer to all brands of the fruit; the generic name is shiranuhi or shiranui (不知火). Dekopon is distinctive due to its sweet taste, large size, and the large protruding bump on the top of the fruit.

In Brazil, dekopon is marketed under the brand name of Kinsei. In the US, the dekopon was released as a commercial product under the name "Sumo Citrus". In South Korea, dekopon is called hallabong (한라봉).

Names

The name is most likely a portmanteau of the word deko (凸, デコ; meaning convex) as a reference to its bump, and the pon in ponkan (ポンカン; one of the fruits that it is derived from) to create "dekopon" (デコポン).

There were many market names for dekopon during the time the name was a trademark of the product from Kumamoto. For instance, himepon was the market name for the fruits originating from Ehime prefecture. The ones grown in Hiroshima prefecture were marketed as hiropon. After an agreement whereby anyone could use the name "dekopon" by paying a fee and meeting certain quality standards, the name was used for the fruit no matter where it came from in Japan.

'Dekopon' does not have an agricultural variety registration number (Nōrin Bangō) because of its bump, which at the time of its development was considered to be unsightly, and failure to reduce acidity in the fruit.