This Week In Ag #110
Konnichiwa! This Week in Ag comes to you this week from Japan. I’m here for my son’s wedding. My new daughter chose this time of year to align with the famous blooming of the cherry blossoms. These Sakura trees provide amazing backdrops for wedding photos. You may have heard about Japan’s cherry blossoms and perhaps seen pictures online or on travel shows. But let me be clear: these do not do the flowers justice. The sights are awe-inspiring. Gardens, parks, temples, river banks and streets lined with Sakura trees provide spectacularly scenic backdrops. Pedals blow in the wind like gentle snowfall. A unique feature of some Sakura trees is their ability to bloom before leaves emerge, which further emphasizes the flowers. The tradition of viewing cherry blossoms, known as Hanami, may also be one of the world’s oldest if not original, forms of agrotourism. It’s a tradition that many believe dates back over 1,000 years. Today, more than 4 million visitors annually ascend to Japan to take in the sights, smells and tastes of the Sakura. There are ten wild Sakura tree species native to Japan. But as with any commercially viable crop, this has led to the man-driven practice of creating cultivars via plant breeding. The oldest cherry blossom cultivar, known as Pedula, or “weeping cherry”, extends back to the 10th century and is still enjoyed today by locals and tourists alike. Now, over 100 cultivars of Sakura exist. Much like pumpkin in the fall or prickly pear in the desert, Sakura has become a popular, if not trendy, food ingredient. There are Sakura-inspired ramen noodles, Dango rice balls, assorted candies and teas. And of course, there’s even a Sakura flavor at certain coffee shops.
Related Posts
This Week in Ag #10
Football may be a game of inches, but farming is a business of fractional inches. Take planting. Seed placement is paramount to the success of a crop. Farmers spend lots of time calculating the optimum rate and depth to plant their seeds based on genetics, soil type, soil conditions, weather, management practices and the desired output
This Week in Ag #41
This is American agriculture’s big week – Thanksgiving! Our celebration of food takes center stage on family dining tables from sea to shining sea. Not only do we honor the 1% who currently feed us, we also reflect upon the many contributions of the original American agriculturalists, our Native Americans. For starters, they saved the Pilgrims from starvation during their first years in the New World. The Wamponoag tribe utilized their famous “Three Sisters” cropping practice: corn, beans and squash.
This Week in Ag #66
When asked if he was finished with planting, dad would frequently respond by saying, “the first time.” His cynicism aside, replant decisions can be difficult. This year, too many growers are faced with that decision. If you plant when the soil is cold and wet, you’re inviting problems. But even if you plant in good soil conditions,
