A research team from the National Agriculture and Food Research Organization(NARO), Nippon Soda Co., Ltd., and Hokkaido University has newly discovered hatching stimulants for Globodera pallida—one of the most destructive pests affecting potatoes globally—with simple chemical structures that are suitable for large-scale synthesis. In field trials, treatments with these compounds achieved a substantial reduction in population density of G. pallida in the soil. This achievement represents a step toward realizing a completely new mode-of-action control strategy and is expected to make a significant contribution to sustainable potato production. Read more

National Agriculture and Food Research Organization(NARO) has clarified that winter snow compaction reduces snow mold disease caused by snow covering winter wheat fields. Snow mold disease is more likely to occur when the soil temperature under snow remains constant at around 0℃. However, when the temperature drops due to "Yuki-fumi", the period around 0℃ is shortened and consequently the occurrence of snow mold disease is reduced. This research result is useful for stabilizing wheat production as an environmentally friendly disease control measure that does not rely on chemical pesticides.Read more

National Agriculture and Food Research Organization(NARO) in collaboration with Bandai Namco Research Inc. has developed a method using drones and artificial intelligence(AI) to easily estimate the coverage of legumes in pastures where grasses and legumes are mixedly sown. By this research result, it is possible to evaluate the ratio of legumes with high accuracy and efficiency in about 1/5,000 times of manual image analysis. Therefore, precise grassland management such as fertilization according to the density of legumes and additional sowing of insufficient legumes is possible. It is also expected to be used for the development of varieties of legumes suitable for mixed sowing. Read more

A delegation from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture of the Federal Republic of Germany led by the Parliamentary State Secretary, H.E. Hans-Joachim Futchel visited the Hokkaido Agricultural Research Center (HARC/NARO) on November 16, 2018 for exchange of opinions and information on agriculture related research. The HARC Director-General, Dr. Ikuo Ando, and HARC researchers gave presentations on the research activities and issues faced by agriculture in Hokkaido such as declining number of farmers, increase in the management area per household, efficient usage system of large machineries, and strategies for preventing volunteer potatoes by soil freezing depth control. Samples of snacks made from potato varieties and bread using wheat variety "Yumechikara" developed by HARC were introduced during the discussion. The delegation expressed interest in establishing research collaboration in research fields such as ICT etc.

The Director of Indonesian Center for Agricultural Post Harvest Research and Development et al, Prof. Ir. Risfaheri visited Hokkaido Agricultural Research Center (HARC/NARO) on October 25, 2018 for an overview of R&D and latest technologies on rice cultivation in Hokkaido. The Director-General, Dr. Ikuo Ando, and researchers gave presentations on research activities of HARC/NARO including rice cultivation in Hokkaido and introduced samples of rice varieties "Oborodzuki" and "Kitamizuho" and pasta using "Kitamizuho" developed by HARC/NARO. After discussion, the delegation visited experimental field for the development of rice cultivation technology. Prof. Ir. Risfaheri expressed his interest in establishing research collaboration in agricultural research between the two countries.

The Food & Agriculture Counsellor of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, Ms. Ursula Holzhauser visited the Hokkaido Agricultural Research Center (HARC/NARO) on November 27, 2017 and met with HARC Director-General and researchers for exchange of opinions and information on agriculture related research. The HARC researchers introduced the research achievements in upland agriculture such as soil freezing depth control by adjusting snowcover thickness, the status and direction of technological development in smart agriculture, and some crop cultivars developed by HARC. The German Counselor expressed interest in establishing research collaboration in research fields such as ICT etc.