SYMPOSIUM: FRUIT GROWING REGIONS IN THE EASTERN JAPAN

Abstract

Fruit farming of decidous tree has developed in the Eastern Japan. Furthermore, the Tsugaru Plain is the largest apple producing region in Japan. In Hirosaki City, the center of the Tsugaru Plain, we had a symposium concerning the fruit farming, during the fall meeting of the Association. The summary of papers presented by reporters are in the following. (I) Norio Natsumura (Chiba Shoka Univ.): Apple cultivation in Tohoku District was started when the seedings had been supplied by the Home Ministry, while pioneers of the cultivation were landlords. Since they wanted to have marketable crops, they chose apple cultivation. (2) Yuzo Ishikawa (Akita Kita High-school): Fruit growing regions in Akita Prefecture are divided into the Yokote Basin and the Hanawa Basin. In the Yokote Basin, where farmers adopted cooperative production system, there has been an increasing fruit production. On the contrary, in the Hanawa Basin, there has been a decline in it. (3) Hiroyasu Aoki (Nakano Primary-school in Nagano Prefecture): The Nagano Basin is also an apple producing region. Since 1965, multi-fruit cultivation has been intro duced to produce pears and grapes as well as apples, replacing the traditional mono culture of apples. (4) Hiroshi Sasaki (Tsukuba Univ.): Vineyards in the Kofu Basin have intensively been cultivated in order to get fresh eating grapes. However, as grapes cultivation in Germany is different in the purpose to make wine, the same types of grapes can be produced in the small scale farms in the Kofu Basin. Here the consolidation of arable lands has been promoted to increase the production. Comments and discussions Studies on the relationships among fruit farming and paddy field farming, problem of circulation system of fruits, infuence of urbanization and industrialization on friuit farming, connection about technique of fruit cultivation and formation of the place of production are important. These are the conclusions which we have reached in this symposium.