Agriculture In Japan Research Articles

Technology comes to the farm in Japan

Yoshinoya Farm Fukushima in northeastern Japan has undergone many trials and tribulations in recent years. The business employs 18 people growing cabbages, onions, and rice. Last year, water suppli...

Multiple genotypes of enterovirus G carrying a papain-like cysteine protease (PL-CP) sequence circulating on two pig farms in Japan: first identification of enterovirus G10 carrying a PL-CP sequence.

Two and three genotypes of enterovirus G (EV-G) carrying a papain-like cysteine protease (PL-CP) sequence were detected on two pig farms and classified into genotypes G1 and G10, and G1, G8, and G17, respectively, based on VP1 sequences. A G10 EV-G virus bearing a PL-CP sequence was detected for the first time. Phylogenetic analysis of the P2 and P3 regions grouped the viruses by farm with high sequence similarity. Furthermore, clear recombination break points were detected in the 2A region, suggesting that PL-CP EV-G-containing strains gained sequence diversity through recombination events among the multiple circulating EV-G genotypes on the farms.

Machinery utilization and management organization in Japanese rice farms: Comparison of single‐family, multifamily, and community farms

AbstractImproving the efficiency of machinery utilization is crucial in modern arable farming. As farms expand in scale, they need more machines, and more complex forms of organization are required to manage the appropriate and efficient utilization of an increasing number of machinery. In this study, we investigated relatively large‐scale rice farms in Japan and assessed the relationship between the types of organization and farm attributes, such as farmland conditions and human resources. While adjusting this effect with propensity scores, we then estimated how the type of organization affects the number of major machines and machine workdays. When compared on a same‐scale, same condition basis, family farms were the most sparing in the use of machinery, and even the farmland concentration effect, achieved by community farms, could not compensate for this difference. Our findings also indicated that nonfamily farms achieved high levels of machinery utilization with a greater operational scale (L23, M11, Q12).

伝統野菜の生産・消費における地域内連携の実態と課題 : 漬物製造業者の原料調達とJAの役割に着目して

伝統野菜の生産・消費における地域内連携の実態と課題 : 漬物製造業者の原料調達とJAの役割に着目して

Transcriptomics of Mature Rice (Oryza Sativa L. Koshihikari) Seed under Hot Conditions by DNA Microarray Analyses

Higher temperature conditions during the final stages of rice seed development (seed filling and maturation) are known to cause damage to both rice yield and rice kernel quality. The western and central parts of Japan especially have seen record high temperatures during the past decade, resulting in the decrease of rice kernel quality. In this study, we looked at the rice harvested from a town in the central Kanto-plains (Japan) in 2010. The daytime temperatures were above the critical limits ranging from 34 to 38 °C at the final stages of seed development and maturity allowing us to investigate high-temperature effects in the actual field condition. Three sets of dry mature rice seeds (commercial), each with specific quality standards, were obtained from Japan Agriculture (JA Zen-Noh) branch in Ami-town of Ibaraki Prefecture in September 2010: grade 1 (top quality, labeled as Y1), grade 2 (medium quality, labeled as Y2), and grade 3 (out-of-grade or low quality, labeled as Y3). The research objective was to examine particular alterations in genome-wide gene expression in grade 2 (Y2) and grade 3 (Y3) seeds compared to grade 1 (Y1). We followed the high-temperature spike using a high-throughput omics-approach DNA microarray (Agilent 4 × 44 K rice oligo DNA chip) in conjunction with MapMan bioinformatics analysis. As expected, rice seed quality analysis revealed low quality in Y3 > Y2 over Y1 in taste, amylose, protein, and fatty acid degree, but not in water content. Differentially expressed gene (DEG) analysis from the transcriptomic profiling data revealed that there are more than one hundred upregulated (124 and 373) and downregulated (106 and 129) genes in Y2 (grade 2 rice seed) and Y3 (grade 3 rice seed), respectively. Bioinformatic analysis of DEGs selected as highly regulated differentially expressed (HRDE) genes revealed changes in function of genes related to metabolism, defense/stress response, fatty acid biosynthesis, and hormones. This research provides, for the first time, the seed transcriptome profile for the classified low grades (grade 2, and out-of-grade; i.e., grade 3) of rice under high-temperature stress condition.

Social entrepreneurship and social business associated with multiple functions of urban agriculture in Japan

The purpose of this research is to examine the relationships among social entrepreneurship, social business (SB) and multiple functions of urban agriculture in Japan, by introducing the methodologies of SEM (structural equation modeling) and TEM (trajectory equifinality model). Following conclusions are obtained based on the analytical results. First, people who are thinking creatively (TC) with a high level of social capital pay attention to social business and prefer multiple functions of urban agriculture not only in megacities but also in designated cities. These people are assumed to have a high level of social entrepreneurship as well. Second, social business develops through the virtuous cycle of social institutions, social entrepreneurship and social business. Among the social institutions, social capitals are important both in the beginning of SB establishment and in the processes of business development. Policy implication drawn from the research suggests that the government should provide opportunities to create a virtuous cycle between social institutions, social entrepreneurship and social business, especially to improve the accumulation of social capital, in order to attract the TCs who have a high level of social entrepreneurship and solve the problems through social business such as agriculture-related businesses.

Comparative study on rituals in highland farming areas In North Sumatera and in Tohoku

Traditional community has local wisdom in managing the relationship between man and man, man and nature, and man and God. The Japanese tradition gives the priority the relationship between man and nature because they believe that Nature is the most important place for human beings and gods. Therefore, in the Japanese traditional community, man and gods have to guard nature against damages. In order to conserve this local wisdom, they use myths, taboos, and rules. In today’s modern Japan, the Japanese still maintain their tradition so that it is commonly said that the Japanese are walking on two traditions: modern and traditional. In today’s highland farming in Japan, the Japanese farmers still perform ritual ceremonies such as rituals in planting rice plants, rituals in weeding and getting rid of pests, rituals in harvesting, and ritual after harvesting. Meanwhile, in the highland farming in North Sumatera, people’s tradition has changed. Today, farmers hunt wild animals such as birds, bats, and snakes because they damage ecosystem; but, as many wild animals are eaten by people, rats and pests/insects become flourish so that farmers now use a lot of chemical insecticide. In consequence, harvests become worse and farmers become poorer. Therefore, there is the difference in local wisdom between high land farmers in Japan and highland farmers in North Sumatera. In this research, the researcher did field research in Tohoku, Japan, and in Batak area, North Sumatera, in order to find out the differences. The theory of cultural comparative science was used in studying local wisdom of the farmers in these two areas. It is recommended that local wisdom be maintained for the local people’s welfare. This research was financed by the Japanese related research program, Sumitomo Foundation.

Two–Stage DEA on Technical Efficiency and the Effect of Water Management on Rice Production of 122 Paddy Fields from a Large–Scale Farm in Japan

Two–Stage DEA on Technical Efficiency and the Effect of Water Management on Rice Production of 122 Paddy Fields from a Large–Scale Farm in Japan

Contribution of fallow weed incorporation to nitrogen supplying capacity of paddy soil under organic farming

ABSTRACT We studied soil nitrogen (N) management in a farmer’s organic rice farming in Japan, where the farmer applied no external N but incorporated gramineous fallow weeds and rice residues as in situ N sources. We focused on the effect of fallow weed incorporation on N-supplying capacity of the paddy soil by tracking decomposition of 15N-labeled fallow weeds after incorporation. The result fits well to the first order kinetics with the decomposition rate of 34.3% a year. A model of soil N accumulation and mineralization based on the first order kinetics showed that soil organic N originated from the incorporated weed would become saturated at the level 1.92 folds the annual input of weed N after several consecutive years of the incorporation. Mineralizable soil N (Min-N) of the weed origin would also become saturated after several years accounting for 21.2% of the total Min-N which includes the indigenous soil N from plow layer. We suspended weed incorporation (SWI) in a sub-plot of the fields for two consecutive years to compare Min-N therein with that in another subplot in the same fields subjected to continued weed incorporation (CWI). After 2 years of the suspension treatment, Min-N in SWI decreased to a similar extent as estimated with the soil-N model based on the first-order kinetics, with which we estimated that 16.9% of annual N uptake by the rice plants originated from the weed including 5.9% from the weed incorporated in the same year and 11.0% from that in the past years. N inflow to soil organic N from the weed was very close to N outflow attaining the steady state. The rice yield could thus be sustained by maintaining the soil N-supplying capacity via the internal cycling of fallow weed N.

Morphological and molecular identification of Eimeria spp. in breeding chicken farms of Japan.

There have been no reports of the prevalence of Eimeria spp. in poultry breeding farms in Japan unlike those of broiler farms. From 2017 to 2018, we examined the prevalence of Eimeria spp. on breeding farms in Japan by oocyst morphology and PCR analyses. A total of 143 samples was collected from 37 breeding farms in 21 prefectures of Japan. We detected oocysts of seven species at 34 of 37 breeding farms by PCR, and we identified E. brunetti at 51.5% of farms found to be positive for Eimeria. The differences in the identification of Eimeria spp. between the morphology and PCR assay methods of oocysts were pronounced for E. maxima and E. necatrix. We confirmed that molecular tools were more suitable for accurately estimating prevalence of Eimeria spp., and these findings suggest that E. brunetti could be widespread in Japan.

Assessment of abortion risk of sows on Japanese commercial farms infected with porcine epidemic diarrhea virus.

The objectives of this study were to assess abortion risk (AR) and the number of piglets that died during suckling periods per litter (DP) in farms infected with porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) in relation to herd immunization procedures. Data were obtained from 91 farms in Japan that had PED infection during 2013 to 2014. The 91 PED-positive farms were asked the number of abortions that occurred and DP for 3months (1month before PED outbreak (previous month), 1month after PED outbreak (the month of PED), and from 1month after PED outbreak to 2months after PED outbreak (following month)). AR in each month was calculated as the number of abortions divided by sow inventory. Both AR and DP in the month of PED were higher than those in the previous and following months (p<.05). Farms that performed a herd immunization procedure had higher AR and DP in the month of PED than those that did not perform the procedure (p<.05). In summary, PED occurrence increased AR and DP.

Genomic characterization and distribution of bovine foamy virus in Japan.

Bovine foamy virus (BFV) is distributed through worldwide cattle herds. Although the biological features of BFV are not well understood, appearance of clinical manifestation by superinfection with other microorganisms is inferred. In Japan, reports of genomic characterizations and epidemiology of this virus are limited. In this study, we performed whole genomic sequencing of BFV strains Ibaraki and No.43, which were isolated in this country. Additionally, we investigated BFV in geographically distant four daily farms in Japan, to estimate the distribution of BFV and its correlation to bovine leukemia virus (BLV). BFV was distributed throughout Japan; the average positive rate was 12.7%. The nucleotide sequence identities of the isolates were 99.6% when compared with BFV strain isolated in the USA. The phylogenetic tree using env gene sequence showed strains Ibaraki, No.43 and Kagoshima were sorted in the same cluster including the USA and Chinese strains, while Hokkaido strain was in the other cluster including European strains. Although no clear correlation between BFV and BLV could be found, BFV and BLV infections were likely to increase with ages. Our data on epidemiology and characteristics of BFV will provide important information to reveal biological features of BFV.

Classical Swine Fever in Japan : Past and Current Situations

In September 2018, classical swine fever (CSF) occurred in a pig farm in Japan for the first time in 26 years. Outbreaks unfortunately still continued at pig farms, and the epidemic has expanded to several prefectures. Furthermore, wild boar involvement has made is difficult to control inhibitory the spread of CSF. Most of the CSF that occurred in Japan in the past showed the acute virulent type, but the current CSF in Japan is the so-called “mild type”, which has already known worldwide. The current CSF that emerged while “diversification of CSF” has begun to be recognized internationally is different from the CSF that Japan had experienced in the past.

Visualizing bovine leukemia virus (BLV)-infected cells and measuring BLV proviral loads in the milk of BLV seropositive dams

Bovine leukemia virus (BLV) infects cattle and causes serious problems for the cattle industry, worldwide. Vertical transmission of BLV occurs via in utero infection and ingestion of infected milk and colostrum. The aim of this study was to clarify whether milk is a risk factor in BLV transmission by quantifying proviral loads in milk and visualizing the infectivity of milk. We collected blood and milk from 48 dams (46 BLV seropositive dams and 2 seronegative dams) from seven farms in Japan and detected the BLV provirus in 43 blood samples (89.6%) but only 22 milk samples (45.8%) using BLV-CoCoMo-qPCR-2. Although the proviral loads in the milk tended to be lower, a positive correlation was firstly found between the proviral loads with blood and milk. Furthermore, the infectivity of milk cells with BLV was visualized ex vivo using a luminescence syncytium induction assay (LuSIA) based on CC81-GREMG cells, which form syncytia expressing enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) in response to BLV Tax and Env expressions when co-cultured with BLV-infected cells. Interestingly, in addition to one BLV-infected dam with lymphoma, syncytia with EGFP fluorescence were observed in milk cells from six BLV-infected, but healthy, dams by an improved LuSIA, which was optimized for milk cells. This is the first report demonstrating the infectious capacity of cells in milk from BLV-infected dams by visualization of BLV infection ex vivo. Thus, our results suggest that milk is a potential risk factor for BLV vertical spread through cell to cell transmission.

Nationwide Survey of Infectious Bronchitis Virus on Layer Farms in Japan During 2015.

After accumulating data through a nationwide survey, we characterized the recent prevalences and geographic distributions of various genotypes of infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) on layer farms in Japan. Reverse transcription PCR analysis of fecal samples revealed the presence of the IBV nucleoprotein (N) gene on approximately 30% of the farms surveyed. N-gene detection rates were higher in the Chugoku and Kyushu regions than in the remaining surveyed regions. Phylogenetic analysis of S1 gene sequences revealed that JP-I, JP-II, JP-III, and Massachusetts genotypes were particularly prevalent, with JP-I isolated throughout the country. Additionally, JP-II was the genotype detected most frequently in Chugoku, and JP-III was the most frequent in Kyushu. Unlike the previous results obtained in 1998 through 2003, the European-prevalent 4/91 genotype was no longer circulating in Japan. Moreover, the number of prefectures where multiple genotypes were detected simultaneously increased during that time.

Antimicrobial usage on 72 farrow-to-finish pig farms in Japan from 2015 to 2017

In Japan veterinary antimicrobials are used most in the pig production sector. However, there is a paucity of data on the quantity of antimicrobials used on pig farms in Japan. This study describes antimicrobial use on Japanese pig farms in 2015, 2016 and 2017 in terms of mg of active ingredient per kg of PCU (population correction unit). Data on antimicrobial use from a total of 72 farrow-to finish farms over these three years were used in the study. The results revealed that the average use of antimicrobials in 2015, 2016 and 2017 was 304.8 (SD = 226.3), 311.2 (SD = 241.0) and 342.9 (SD = 291.3) mg/kg PCU, respectively. Most (97%) of the antimicrobials were administered orally. The most commonly used antimicrobials were tetracyclines, followed by macrolides, penicillins and sulfonamides. Tohoku was the region in which the lowest quantities of antimicrobial were used whilst South Kanto was the region in which the largest amount was used. The use of antimicrobials was on the increase in the North Kanto, South Kanto and Kyushu regions.

Local tradition of mountain farmers in Japan and Batak area in industrial era 4.0

Traditional societies have local knowledge in managing human relations with humans, human relationships with nature and human relations with God. Modern Japanese society recently still maintains its tradition, so it is often called Japan runs on two sides of culture, namely modern and traditional. In mountain farming in Japan, now agricultural activities are still carrying out ritual events such as the ritual of planting rice, rites weeding and repelling pests and rites of harvest and post-harvest. Japanese farmers do not kill wild animals in their fields but take precautions, so that wild animals do not come in to disturb their agriculture. Compared to mountain farming in North Sumatra, the traditional beliefs of the people have changed; they no longer carry out the traditional rites. Now farmers have hunted wild animals such as birds, bats, and snakes. Therefore, this situation is damaging the ecosystem because wild animals have been used as food so that there are many mice and planthopper pests/insects and for that, they use a lot of chemical poisons. This results in poor harvests and consequently, farmers being poor. Researchers use Fudo’s theory (The relationship of climate with the way of life of Watsuji Tetsuro) and the historical development theory of Saburo Ienaga and theories of comparative culture in examining the local wisdom of farming communities in these two ethnicities. This research shows how two nations which have relatively similar natural conditions but in historical development have different ways of life.

Historical Transitions of Dairy Policy, Economy and Farming in Japan

Historical Transitions of Dairy Policy, Economy and Farming in Japan

Soil hydro-thermal regimes and water use efficiency of rain-fed soybean (Glycine max) as affected by organic mulches

Soybean (Glycine max) is a commercially important oilseed crop across the world; it is also popularly used as vegetables, cookery and fodder crops in Japan. In areas with limited rainfall and high temperature, mulching can provide greater yield of rain-fed soybean by improving soil hydro-thermal regimes. However, organic mulching like rice straw and shaded newspaper being inexpensive, rapidly degradable, easy to use, and environment friendly may provide more benefits than plastic mulching. Field experiments with rain-fed soybean cultivation were done in 2015 and 2016 at Gifu University farm in Japan. The purposes were to investigate the effects of rice straw and newspaper mulching on moisture and temperature regimes of soil, soil-water consumption (SWC), soil-moisture extraction pattern (SMEP), total readily available moisture (TRAM), water use efficiency (WUE) as well as growth and yield of soybean. Mulching increased seasonal soil-moisture content with lesser fluctuations in the root zone compared to bare soil, and lowered soil temperature by 2 °C at 5 cm and 0.5–1.0 °C at 15–25 cm soil depths. Straw mulch reduced SWC by 41.8 and 13.9% in 2015 and 2016, respectively compared to bare soil; the corresponding reduction in SWC under newspaper mulch was 16.6 and 20.6%. Consequently, mulching improved WUE by 25–47% compared to bare soil. Mulching significantly (p ≤ 0.05) improved plant height, leaf chlorophyll content, nodulations, grain (pod) and seed numbers, biomass, and grain and seed yields of soybean compared to bare soil. Grain yield increased by 12–13% under straw mulching and 6.6–37.2% under newspaper mulching compared to bare soil. Newspaper mulch provided higher yield and WUE by maintaining lower soil temperature and SWC, and greater soil moisture compared to straw mulch. Thus, newspaper can be an alternative option to rice straw mulch for improving soil hydro-thermal regimes for rain-fed soybean cultivation.

Geographically Weighted Regression Analysis of Abandoned Farmland based on the Census of Agriculture and Forestry in Japan

Geographically Weighted Regression Analysis of Abandoned Farmland based on the Census of Agriculture and Forestry in Japan