Pocheon Apples Win Grand Prize and Excellence Award at Gyeonggi-do Apple Quality Contest

Pocheon City, Gyeonggi Province (Mayor Baek Young-hyun) announced on the 27th that it won the Grand Prize and the Excellence Award at the ‘2024 Gyeonggi-do Apple Contest’ held at the Gyeonggi-do Agricultural Research and Extension Services on the 25th.

Pocheon City won the Grand Prize and the Excellence Award at the "2024 Gyeonggi-do Apple Competition" held on the 25th at the Gyeonggi-do Agricultural Research and Extension Services.

The city achieved the remarkable feat of winning the Grand Prize for three consecutive times, following its wins in 2020 and 2022.

The 2024 Gyeonggi-do Apple Contest is a biennial event hosted by the Gyeonggi-do Agricultural Research and Extension Services and the Gyeonggi-do Apple and Pear Research Association, with participation from 40 apple farmers in the province. The entries were Fuji apple varieties, and judging was conducted through instrumental evaluation based on sugar content and fruit weight, as well as sensory evaluation assessing uniformity, coloration, bloom, and taste.

In Pocheon City, five farms submitted apples, winning the Grand Prize (Kim Kwang-seop) and Excellence Awards (Moon Jeong-sun, Han Sang-il). Notably, farmer Kim Kwang-seop, who won the Grand Prize, is recognized as a model case in the region for his outstanding cultivation techniques and quality management. He also won a national excellence award with the Rubies variety at the 2023 Korea Representative Fruit Competition.

Pocheon City has consistently promoted various support projects to strengthen the competitiveness of apple farms, including cultivation technique guidance, operation of the Gyeonggi Agricultural Meister Apple Class, training of professional pruners, and artificial pollination support projects.

Jung Young-won, head of the Pocheon Agricultural Technology Center, said, “We are very pleased that Pocheon apples have won numerous awards, including the Grand Prize and Excellence Awards at the contest. We express our gratitude for the dedicated efforts of the apple farmers,” and added, “Pocheon City will continue to provide unwavering support and guidance so that Pocheon apples can boast the highest quality nationwide.”

Meanwhile, the Pocheon Apple Research Association (Chairman Park Dong-won) is continuously striving to produce high-quality apples and plays a pivotal role in the development of local agriculture.