NAGASAKI, May 10 ― Shipments of astilbe plume-like flowers, available in a variety of colors including pink, white, purple and blue, are reaching its peak to be sent as gifts for Mother’s Day on May 11. Growers of Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture, known as Japan’s leading producing region of the flowers, are offering fresh astilbes dyed in different colors using a unique coloring technique. The astilbes of various hues are proving popular among florists nationwide and are attracting attention on social media as flowers that are hard to come by. In Sasebo, 12 growers who belong to JA Nagasaki Saikai, a local agricultural cooperative, cultivate astilbes on areas totaling about 3 … Continue reading →

TOKYO, May 2 ― “Meet tomato trees in a shopping mall in Tokyo.” A food and beverage manufacturer, Kagome Co., Ltd., held a tomato-harvesting event in Futako-Tamagawa Rise Galleria in Setagaya Ward, Tokyo, during the Golden Week holidays in Japan. The Wonder Farm and Tomato Tree visitors were greeted by four 4-meter-tall hydroponically-cultivated trees bearing medium-sized tomatoes and six others bearing approximately 1,000 cherry tomatoes each. The first comers to the venue, approximately 24 groups per day, could even enjoy a tomato harvesting experience. Moreover, all visitors were invited to participate in fun activities like a quiz rally for kids to learn about vegetables and win cherry tomato seedling gifts. … Continue reading →

KANAGAWA, April 30 ―Kiyomitsu Suzuki, 55, a farmer who grows daikon radishes and cabbages in the city of Miura, Kanagawa Prefecture, has been using auxiliary wheels attached to his pickup truck for over a decade, as they prevent his truck from sinking in muddy fields during harvesting. Rakurin, offered by Khamsa, an agricultural machinery maker in the city of Kobe, can be attached to the outer side of pickup trucks’ rear tires. There are many small fields and narrow roads in Miura and pickup trucks are widely used to carry harvested vegetables. After long rain, tires get stuck in mud, making it difficult for farmers to go into the fields … Continue reading →

KAGOSHIMA, April 28 ―Yasuo Shimomae, 62, a green pepper grower in the city of Shibushi, Kagoshima Prefecture, has come up with an easy and effective way to release tobacco leaf bugs ―native predators that prey on harmful pests. The method involves collecting mainly baby tobacco leaf bugs, mixing them with horticultural vermiculite and sprinkling them on green pepper plants. Since baby bugs don’t fly away to other places, they eat pests specifically on the plants, thus working effectively as natural control, a method that is inexpensive and can be used widely also in organic farming. Both adult and baby tobacco leaf bugs prey on pests such as whiteflies and thrips. … Continue reading →

AICHI, Apr. 27 – Spring has come, and farmers in the Kashidani Rice Terrace in Ozu City, Ehime Prefecture, are busy flooding and preparing for the rice planting season. Seiichi Shiromoto is a 65-year-old owner of a 1-hectare rice field. He was working hard, operating a tractor and performing preliminary tillage of the water-filled rice field. He plans to plant rice in late April, which is expected to continue for a month. The Kashidani Rice Terrace is located on the mountains at an altitude of 500 meters, with 257 rice paddies sitting next to each other and covering about 3 hectares of the side of the mountains. The farmers grow … Continue reading →