Yangfeng Sweet Persimmon

Yangfeng sweet persimmon (Diospyros kaki 'Yōhō') is a pollination-constant non-astringent (PCNA) cultivar of the persimmon family, native to Japan. It was bred in 1990 at the Akitsu Branch of the National Institute of Fruit Tree Science by crossing the Fuyu persimmon with the Jiro persimmon, and is regarded as one of the best all-round sweet persimmon varieties.

As a PCNA variety, Yangfeng completes its de-astringency naturally on the tree — the flesh is already crisp and sweet when the fruit is picked, with no artificial de-astringency needed. Simply rinse and eat. It eliminates the cumbersome de-astringency process required for astringent persimmons and excels at both fresh eating and commercial production.

The variety suits cultivation in the Yangtze River basin and on calcareous soils in Shaanxi, with an economic lifespan of 100–200 years — one investment, long-term returns.

The fruit is oblate (flattened round), with an average weight of 230 g and a maximum of 400 g — even, well-filled and satisfying to hold.

At maturity the skin turns orange-red with a deep red blush near the apex, brilliantly attractive. The flesh is orange-red, crisp and firm, sweet and refreshingly delicious; after storage it becomes dense and richly sweet.

Brix reaches 16 degrees with 18.4% soluble solids — exceptional quality. Grown alone the fruit is seedless; with a pollinizer tree, yield increases and seed numbers rise, so growers can flexibly match planting to fresh-market preferences.

A mid-season variety timed for the National Day window: in Chongqing the fruit is edible from mid-to-late August, begins to color in early September and matures in mid-to-late September, and can hang on the tree until after the National Day holiday for even better flavour; in Shaanxi it matures in early-to-mid October.

During the crisp-firm stage it tolerates storage and shipping and does not crack — tough skin and firm flesh suit express delivery, gift boxes and long-distance distribution.

After about 20 days of natural storage the fruit softens, the flesh turning pasty and sticky with higher Brix and better flavour — enjoy it crisp or soft; two textures, two flavours, and a long sales window.

Vigour is moderate with a fairly spreading habit; it flowers very easily and sets fruit exceptionally well — one of the finest-quality, highest-yielding sweet persimmon varieties.

In dense plantings (2.5 × 1.2 m, 222 trees per mu) trees bear fruit in the second year and enter full production in the fourth, with yields above 3,000 kg per mu — early returns and a short payback period.

Full-production orchards can sustain high yields for decades; well-managed orchards are stable producers, ideal for large-scale base planting.

Measurements by the Research Institute of Subtropical Forestry show that per 100 g of fresh flesh, sweet persimmon contains 22–24 g of soluble sugars (about 11.6 g in ordinary persimmon), 0.57–0.67 g of protein and 0.28–0.38 g of fat.

It is rich in niacin, vitamins B1, B2, E and C, and beta-carotene; the trace elements iron, zinc and selenium all exceed those of ordinary persimmon.

Compared with apple, it has about 13 times the sugar, 6 times the protein and 10 times the vitamin B; soluble solids run 14%–21%, and vitamin C, iron, zinc, calcium and selenium all exceed astringent persimmon, with a crisp-keeping period 2–3 times longer.