Wednesday, July 10, 2024
On Monday, July 8th, starting just after 10:00, 10 fifth graders from Hokuryu Town's Shinryu Elementary School (Principal Kamata Sadao) observed the growth of rice at Takada Co., Ltd.'s farm in Mitani, Hokuryu Town.
- 1 Rice Crop Growth Progress Observation
- 2 Youtube Video
- 3 More Photos
- 4 Related Articles
Rice Crop Growth Progress Observation
Mr. Jun Kitajima, Director of the Sorachi Agricultural Extension Center, Mr. Keisuke Kurashita, and Mr. Shuta Hayama, extension staff, visited us.
Jun Kitajima, Section Chief (Sorachi Agricultural Extension Center)
Mr. Jun Kitajima, Manager of the Sorachi Agricultural Development and Extension Center, gave a presentation on the day.
Hokuryu-cho is an area where rice is actively grown. Hokuryu-cho is located in the North Sorachi region of Sorachi Province. Hokuryu-cho is located in the North Sorachi area of Sorachi Province.
Hokuryu Town is one of the leading rice-producing areas
There are areas in Minami-Sorachi such as Iwamizawa and Kuriyama where rice is actively grown. Hokuryu Town, Amaryu Town, Chichibubetsu Town, and Numata Town are areas that are working hard to produce rice.
Thirty or 40 years ago, there was a gradual surplus of rice, and the government ordered us to grow something other than rice in the rice paddies, so we started growing buckwheat, soybeans, and wheat in the rice paddies.
In Hokuryu Town, the percentage of rice fields used to produce anything other than rice is low, and most of the fields are used to produce rice. It is a very valuable area.
You may feel that there are many rice fields around this town, but more than 90% of them are used for rice.
The town of Hokuryu has named its rice "Sunflower Rice.
It is not easy to do this anywhere else. Farmers are working together to make rules and follow those rules to grow safe rice.
'Is there anyone whose family is a farmer? Who among them grows rice?'
(A student raises his hand with a 'yes').
Your fathers and mothers are also working hard to produce delicious and safe rice, so please say "good job" to them when they return home after a long day of hard work.
Many hardships lead to the present
In today's handout, you will see a graph of the areas in Hokkaido where rice is grown. Here in Sorachi, 46% of the rice grown in Hokkaido is produced. That is almost half.
It describes the history of when rice was first produced in Hokkaido. There are stone monuments in Eniwa Town and Hakodate City, where rice was first produced in Hokkaido, as the birthplace of rice cultivation in Hokkaido.
Each town is filled with stone monuments related to rice, such as places where active efforts made cultivation possible and where rice cultivation began. When you walk around the town, please pay attention to such stone monuments and observe them.
Rice cultivation began around the beginning of the Taisho era (1912-1926). The area around the Ishikari and Uryu Rivers used to be flooded four to five times a year, and the land in this area was often inundated with water.
Rice has been produced under these many hardships, and gradually, methods and solutions to prevent flood damage have been studied.
The local people have continued to work hard to produce rice, which has led to today's rice production. The rice fields of today are the result of the efforts of tremendous people who spent tremendous amounts of money to grow rice.
The document shows a graph of how much area and how much rice has been produced since then.
Average paddy rice cultivation area in Hokuryu-cho is 15ha-50ha
The graph shows the progress of rice quality and the figures for paddy rice planted area per household in Hokkaido. In Hokuryu Town, the average paddy rice cropping area is 30-50 ha, more than 15 ha.
Making the rice fields bigger is another effort to make the rice fields full with fewer farmers.
I hope that you too will look up at the library or other sources to get a feel for what kind of effort has gone into producing rice in the town of Hokuryu. Please take any opportunity to touch on it.
One year of paddy rice cultivation
The third page of the document is a chronology of the year's work for rice and paddy rice cultivation.
- Mar:Melt the snow and let the work begin!
- Apr:We go through a lot of work from sowing seeds, plowing the rice field, filling it with water, and planting the rice!
- May:Growing seedlings. (Nowadays, this is done with agricultural machinery, but in the days of my grandparents, it was done by hand.
- As an event to thank people for their hard work in planting rice, everyone gathered at autumn festivals and barbecues to rejoice in the harvest and be thankful for the fall.
- July:This is the time of juvenile ear formation, when the ear is ready to form.
This is a very important time, and if it is cold at this time of year, it may be difficult to produce ears. The depth of water is also added to the rice paddies to ease the cold weather. If water is kept in the paddy all the time, the roots may suffer from root rot due to lack of oxygen. Water is taken in and out to keep the roots healthy.
Although it may look like nothing is being done to the rice plants, farmers carefully observe how the rice plants are growing out of sight, and they are constantly managing the watering and mowing of the plants on a daily basis.
- From the end of this monthAround early AugustThe blue ears begin to emerge from the first stage of the season. At first, the ears point straight up, but as the inside of the ears become full, they turn brown and droop down.
- Sept:It's going to be a harvest.
Please continue to observe the growth of rice as well as the scenery of the rice paddies.
If you have any questions about anything in learning about rice in school, please ask your teacher. You can also ask questions and get answers from farmers and us.
Since this is a great opportunity, I think it will be a good chance to study how rice, the source of the rice that comes to your tables, is grown. I think it will be a great learning experience for everyone, so please do your best," said Kitajima.
Rice observation in the rice paddies
Observation of juvenile ears: photo shooting with ipad
- Straw:The hollow part of the stem at the nodes is called the "straw" (it grows in sections like bamboo)
- Juvenile ears:Pull out the stem and observe the juvenile ear at the base of the stem
- Stopped leaves:The uppermost leaf on the stem is the "perianth" and the young ear develops in the leaf sheath of the perianth and eventually emerges.
Water management: Deep water, shallow water, etc. according to rice growth conditions
We water the emerging ears of rice to protect them from the cold," said Akimitsu Takada, chairman of Takada Co.
Herbicide and insecticide application by drone flight
After rice planting, a drone is used to spray herbicides and also to control pests. A drone is flown 3 m from the ground to control pests of the leaf-eating rice water bug.
The next rice observation will be after Obon.
The next rice observation will be after the Bon Festival. By the time the scarecrows are set up, the rice will be ripe and the ears will be drooping.
This is where we ended up with the people from Sorachi Agricultural Extension Center.
'Gentlemen, please continue to study the rice plant. Thanks for your hard work today!" said Mr. Kitajima.
The students said "Thank you very much!" in a loud voice of gratitude and bid farewell to the Sorachi Agricultural Extension Center staff.
Q&A with Mr. Takada
Q. About climate
June was a cold month due to lack of sunshine, and the lowest temperature in June was 8 degrees Celsius. Rice growth was 3 to 4 days behind the normal year.
Q. About pest control tools
Pest control is done with unmanned helicopters and drones." It is operated by two licensed people. One person follows at the turnaround point to guide the helicopter, and one person pilots the drone. The drone is equipped with GPS, so it can be operated automatically.
Drone Observation
He asked, "How big is your drone?" he showed us a drone that he actually carries and uses.
- The drone is a small Japanese-made aircraft
- Observe the shape, size, and weight of the actual drone in use.
Actually hold it and check the weight of the drone. The student easily held it and said, "It's lighter than I thought it would be! said a student.
In response to a question about the difference between drones and helicopters, "There is a difference in the amount of chemicals loaded and the speed of spraying. A helicopter has a larger payload and shorter spraying time," said Takada.
The way we make rice is becoming more labor-saving, so by the time you reach adulthood, the way we make rice will have evolved and changed considerably," says Takada. When we expand our fields in the future, we are considering using drones for seeding, etc.," says Mr. Takada.
Sunflower watermelon tasting
After the observation, Mr. Takada presented us with sunflower watermelons, which we all enjoyed.
Chewing on delicious sunflower watermelon, "Delicious! and smiles all around, the students were very satisfied!
All the students said "Thank you for the food", "Thank you very much!!!" and thank you greetings, and boarded the bus to head back to school.
We express our infinite love, gratitude, and prayers to the precious ears of rice planted by the students, which will grow vigorously, absorb plenty of nutrients, and bear golden fruit in the fall, becoming the most delicious rice.
Youtube Video
More Photos
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◇ Reporting and writing by Ikuko Terauchi (Photography and editorial assistance by Noboru Terauchi) 
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