Descriptions:
The issue concerns new rice grown in Miyagi Prefecture. This year, the harvest season is likely to start earlier than usual due to extreme heat. The prefecture held a meeting with growers and others to discuss measures to prevent the quality of rice from deteriorating due to high temperatures. People from the prefecture and JA attended the meeting, and the growth status of Hitomebore, which accounts for 70% of the prefecture’s rice, was reported. This year, due to the effects of extreme heat, the harvest period was three days earlier than usual and one day earlier than last year. There is also a high risk of internal cracks and drying out of rice grains, so the prefecture urges growers to be careful. A prefectural official said, “We would like you to check and observe the color of the fir trees in the rice paddies in each field and prepare for harvesting as soon as the harvest time comes.” The best time to harvest rice is one year earlier than usual. It is expected to arrive about a week early, around September 4. Meanwhile, the city of Osaka has already carried out sorting of the new rice, and the harvest of about 4 tons of the extremely early Gohyakugawa variety, harvested last week in the Sanbongi and Matsuyama areas, has been confirmed. There was no damage from high temperatures or typhoons this year, and the harvest was carried out about a week earlier than usual. As a result of the inspection, all the rice was found to be “first-grade rice.” JA Furukawa agricultural produce inspector Toshiyuki Saito: “I thought the grains were firm, shiny, and transparent.” The new Gohyakkawa rice is expected to hit stores in early September.