“Challenge for growing Dryland Rice with Brewing Yeast”
Successful cultivation of rice in Abashiri, Hokkaido using agricultural material (fertilizer raw material)* derived from brewing yeast cell walls aimed at revitalization of local community and agriculture
Asahi Group Holdings, Ltd.
(Tokyo, Japan - November 5, 2021) - Asahi Biocycle Co., Ltd., which is a subsidiary of Asahi Group Holdings, Ltd. and utilizes biotechnologies to improve environmental sustainability as a business, announces that it is advancing the “Challenge for growing Dryland Rice with Brewing Yeast” together with Fukuda Farm in Abashiri, Hokkaido, and has successfully cultivated dry rice using agricultural material (fertilizer raw material) derived from brewing yeast cell walls on approximately 3 ares (approx. 300 square meters) of the farm’s fields.
This project aims at revitalizing the local community and local agriculture by planting seeds and harvesting rice together with local children. The plan is to increase the number of local participants and expand the dryland rice growing field with the goal to provide locally produced rice to local elementary school lunches in the future.
This year, the project was supported by the Abashiri Junior Chamber with the purpose of realizing potential value in Abashiri by having parents and children think about local issues. They solicited the participation of parents and children at elementary schools in Abashiri City in April and began activities by having parents and children plant Hokkaido Nanatsuboshi rice seeds in May. In July, the parents and children cut weeds in the cultivation area, watched the agricultural material derived from brewing yeast cell walls being spread over the dryland rice field by drone, and confirmed the growth of the rice plants. Although there has been abnormal weather this year, the rice has grown well.
The schedule is to harvest the rice on November 6, and the parents and children will cook and eat the harvested rice on November 28.
Abashiri district of Hokkaido has low temperatures, so it is not suited for rice farming, and rice has almost never been grown there since the beginning of the Showa era (1926-1989). Fukuda Farm has been growing rice since 2018, not rice in paddy. They first succeeded with the formation of grains on the ears of the rice plants in 2020 when they began trials using agricultural material (fertilizer raw material) derived from brewing yeast cell walls as fertilizer.
Dryland rice absorbs less water compared with rice grown in paddies, so its growth is normally slow and its stems are usually thin. However, because the agricultural material (fertilizer raw material) derived from brewing yeast cell walls, which are a by-product created in the beer manufacturing process, enhances the immunity of the rice plants and promotes root growth, The plants can absorb a lot of the nutrients necessary for its growth from the soil the enhanced fine roots , so the anticipated harvest can now be expected.
The farm began full-scale cultivation in 2021, and expects to harvest rice for the second year following the 2020 crop.
Asahi Biocycle seeks for environmental friendly and sustainable agriculture, development of local community and agriculture, and increasing food self-sufficiency ratio as they plan to expand areas where their safe agricultural raw material derived from food are used.
*Agricultural material (fertilizer raw material) using brewing yeast cell walls has two functions when applied to plants. One is to enhance the plants’ natural immunity and another is to create the useful microbial flora by improving the soil environment.
This material is safe and secure because it is derived from food, strengthens plant disease-resistance by boosting immunity, increases yields, and improves the soil. These features contribute not only to increasing crop quality, but also to sustainable agriculture by decreasing the quantity of greenhouse gas emissions per unit harvest.
In Japan, it is used on farmland nationwide, golf courses, natural grass sports facilities, baseball fields including famous the Hanshin Koshien Stadium and in public parks, etc.
■ Asahi Biocycle Corporate Website
https://www.asahibiocycle.com/en/