Chrysanthemum growers getting ready to ship light-culture products at right time

FUKUOKA, Jul. 25 – In Itoshima City, Fukuoka Prefecture, you’ll see this open field of chrysanthemum plants aglow at night. Motoyuki Inoue, vice chairman of the flower business committee of a local agricultural cooperative in Fukuoka (JA Itoshima), has 80-are outdoor light-culture chrysanthemum beds and 37-are greenhouses. In the greenhouses, he grows chrysanthemums twice a year. The 55-year-old man currently lights the plants with red light-emitting diode (LED) lamps and orange fluorescent lamps from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. The chrysanthemum is a short-day plant that flowers when the day is shorter than the night. So, the artificial lighting can make the plants develop buds late and bloom at the … Continue reading

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Japan’s exports of green tea increase by 50 percent in five years

TOKYO, July 30 — Exports of green tea have been showing brisk growth, with the value of shipments in 2022 increasing 50 percent from 2017 and those in the January-May period of this year up 4 percent from the same period last year. Coping with nontariff barriers, such as different pesticide residue standards depending on countries, has been a challenge. But it is becoming possible to respond to growing overseas demand as organic tea growing regions are expanding and the agriculture ministry has worked to increase the types of pesticides that can be used for cultivation of tea targeted at foreign markets. According to the farm ministry, the total value … Continue reading

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Japan sees growth in exports of high-yield rice varieties

TOKYO, July 24 — Japan is recently exporting more high-yield rice varieties as Japanese-grown rice is increasingly accepted abroad. Rice dealers hope to expand sales channels further with a lineup of reasonably-priced products. Some prefectures are developing new varieties targeting overseas consumers while others are seeking to create added values by exploring agriculture with lower environmental load. Japan’s rice exports are expanding steadily, with shipments in the January-May period rising 30 percent from the same period last year to roughly 13,000 tons. The figure is close to the volume of exports marked in the whole of 2018, reflecting the growing popularity of Japanese-grown rice in foreign countries. Rice growing areas … Continue reading

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One cherry tomato “tree” bearing 40,000 shining fruits at a time in Mihama Town, Fukui Prefecture

FUKUI, Jul. 20 – A cherry tomato bears 4,000 fruits at a time, astonishing visitors at a horticulture laboratory, Engei Labo no Oka, in Mihama Town, Fukushima Prefecture. It’s a parthenocarpic breed hydroponically grown in a greenhouse at a temperature of around 25 centigrade. Its main branches reach a frame of 2 meters high and are attached to the frame by strings. Horizontally, it spreads 5 meters in all directions. It’s not just a plant but a tomato “tree.” According to the laboratory, this tomato is expected to bear 20,000 fruits in total by October this year. Engei Labo no Oka started to grow cherry tomato “trees” that bear several … Continue reading

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Hokkaido’s 22 agricultural cooperatives jointly start exporting sweet potatoes

Hokkaido, Jul. 18 – Hokkaido Prefecture’s 22 agricultural cooperatives (JAs) began exporting sweet potatoes cooperatively. They plan to ship approximately 550 tons a year through a new joint sweet potato sorting facility, one of Japan’s largest, established in the coastal city of Tomakomai by the Hokuren Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives and a local private company. Their initial primary market is Southeast Asia, where baked sweet potatoes are booming. In the future, they’ll expand the production volume further. The current coverage of the 22 JAs is large, from the northernmost area of Okhotsk to the Southern regions of the island. Their production area has reached 35 hectares, up significantly from 10 … Continue reading

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