Female flowers were covered with cellophane bags before anthesis.
Upon anthesis, they were artificially self-pollinated with treated pollen on the same day and then re-covered to prevent contact with insect-borne pollen for 3–5 days.
One male flower was used for three female flowers.
Mature fruits were harvested at about 35 days in ‘Benikodama’ and 38 days after pollination in ‘Fujihikari TR’.
Immediately after harvesting, fruit weight, fruit shape, rind thickness, sugar content (soluble solid contents) and seed normality (maturity or emptiness) were recorded for each fruit.
Fruit shape index was expressed as the ratio of height to width.
Empty seeds with a hard coat were counted, but those with a thin coat were not