Construction of low-load soil management techniques in snow-covered orchards to cope with frequent occurrence of localized heavy rain and an early snowmelt

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 21H02303
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 41030:Rural environmental engineering and planning-related
• Research Institution: Hirosaki University
• Principal Investigator: Endo Akira 弘前大学, 農学生命科学部, 教授 (70450278)
• Project Period (FY): 2021-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 積雪寒冷地 / 樹園地 / 窒素循環 / 土壌管理 / 土壌水質分析

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study addresses the academic question of "What soil management technology should be recommended from both production and environmental perspectives?" for apple production in snowy and cold regions in the near future. With the aim of deriving a comprehensive optimal solution from the perspective of agricultural land engineering, principal investigator aimed to understand the soil environment in fertilized and non-fertilized test plots at apple orchards in each soil group in Aomori Prefecture, a cold and snowy region. By doing so, principal investigator examined criteria for determining the optimal timing of fertilization, especially in response to extreme weather conditions caused by recent climate change.

Free Research Field

農地環境工学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究成果は、リンゴの生育期間・休眠期間を問わず通年で園地土壌水の採取・成分分析を行うことで、積雪寒冷地のリンゴ園地の環境に与える複雑なインパクトを解明した点において学術的に意義深いと考えられる。また、近年の気候変動に起因し、今後生起し得る極端な気象条件を勘案した、リンゴの生産面と環境面の双方の観点から推奨できる施肥体系を再構築する判断材料・指標を提供できたことから、本研究成果の社会的な意義は大きいと考えらえれる。