Tuesday, July 15, 2025
- 1 Fifth graders from Shinryu Elementary School observe the growth of rice
- 2 Learn from the experts! How to grow delicious rice
- 3 Farmer Takada talks about this year's rice and agriculture
- 4 With gratitude
- 5 Youtube Video
- 6 More Photos
- 7 Related Articles
Fifth graders from Shinryu Elementary School observe the growth of rice
On Wednesday, July 9th, starting just after 10am, six fifth graders from Hokuriku Town Shinryu Elementary School (Principal Kamata Sadao) observed the growth of rice at Takada Co. Ltd.'s farm in Mitani, Hokuriku Town.
We had the honor of having Mr. Kurashita Keisuke from the Kita Sorachi Branch of the Sorachi Agricultural Improvement and Extension Center visit us and talk to us about water management for rice.
Learn from the experts! How to grow delicious rice
A talk by Mr. Keisuke Kurashita, Sorachi Agricultural Improvement and Extension Center, Kita-Sorachi Branch
"Hello, this is Kurashita from the Sorachi Agricultural Improvement and Extension Center. To produce delicious rice, water management after planting is very important.
Rice requires management by increasing or decreasing the water depth depending on the growth period.
The period when the plant has just been planted: the "takeover period"
Just-planted rice plants are still weak, just like human children. On sunny days, give them just a little water, just to the depth of their ankles.
This will allow the seedlings to take root firmly in the soil and get used to their new location. On cold or windy days, especially in early spring, water the seedlings deeply to keep them warm and protect them from the cold and wind.
By managing the plants in this way according to the weather, the seedlings will be able to grow healthy roots.
The period when stems increase: the tillering period
After a while, the plant will enter the "tillage stage" and new stems will begin to grow. During this stage, if you keep the water shallow enough to cover the soles of your feet, it will be easier for the plant to branch out.
Drying out rice fields
When you enter a rice field during the tillering period, you can see bubbles (gas) coming out of the soil. This is bad air for the rice.
Therefore, in order to let fresh air in, the rice fields are drained and dried for a period called "mid-season drying." This should last about a week, until the soil starts to crack lightly. This is done to prevent the stalks from growing too much, and to encourage the roots to grow deep into the soil and produce strong rice plants.
The period when baby rice plants are formed: "panicle formation period"
The "young ear formation stage" is an important time when baby rice ears (young ears) emerge. If you pull out a stalk and split the longest stalk vertically with a cutter, you can see a small young ear inside. This will grow and eventually emerge as an ear.
"In Hokkaido, the weather at this time of year can pose a risk of cold damage. If the water is cold, the baby ears will not grow well, so we make the water as deep as possible to help them grow. Managing the water depth according to the growth of the young ears is the most important point for growing delicious rice," said Kurashita.
The students listened attentively to what the experts had to say.
Farmer Takada talks about this year's rice and agriculture
A story from Mr. Akimitsu Takada of Takada Co., Ltd.
“Simply put, when you take a bath, you feel warm, right? Rice also gets warm by taking a bath. We put water in the rice plants so that they can withstand the cold.
The most important thing in growing rice is water management.
It's been warm this year, so I think the ears will start to appear in about a week.
It's been warm for a while now, so the "first ears" are coming up, much earlier than usual. Once the ears come up, the flowers bloom all at once.
We expect the rice harvest to begin as soon as September arrives," said Takada.
Q&A with students
The students asked questions one after another, and a friendly conversation took place.
In response to the students' questions, Takada spoke about the situation in agriculture from various perspectives, including the need for measures to combat Hokkaido's climate change and high temperatures, challenges to the profitability of agricultural management and the difficulty of determining prices, the rental and usage status of agricultural machinery, and the differences in agricultural scale and machinery use between Hokkaido and Honshu.
With gratitude
The students expressed their gratitude with a loud voice, "Thank you very much!", and at the end, they all took a commemorative photo! After that, they returned to Shinryu Elementary School by bus.
The students quietly watch as the rice they planted grows healthily, learning about the process.
We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to all the farmers who grow rice with such love, and we would like to express our boundless love, gratitude, and prayers to the delicious, golden rice that ripens in the fall.
Youtube Video
More Photos
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◇ ◇ Photography, editing and website management: Noboru Terauchi Writer: Ikuko Terauchi
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