Akinori Kimura Growing Method [PDF]

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ORGANIC FARMING



Aomori’s “Miracle Apples” One Japanese apple farmer is currently attracting attention from the farming community not only in Japan but around the world. This is because Akinori Kimura became the first modern farmer to successfully cultivate apples without using any pesticides or fertilizers. Japan Echo spoke to him to learn how he achieved this modern agricultural “miracle.”



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here is an apple known as the “miracle apple.” It was made by Akinori Kimura, an apple farmer in the city of Hirosaki in Aomori Prefecture. The term miracle is used to describe his apples because they were produced without the use of any pesticides or fertilizers, a feat that was previously considered impossible in modern agriculture. The extent to which farmers rely on pesticides varies depending on the crop, but in the case of apples damage from pests can reduce a particular year’s crop by over 90% if pesticides are not used. What is more, the trees are unable to blossom or bear fruit the next year. Two consecutive years of cultivation without using pesticides can result in a crop of zero apples. The reason why apple farming is so dependent on pesticides is that the sweet-tasting fruit we eat today is the result of breed improvements that began in the nineteenth century, when pesticides first appeared. Apple farmers today spray their crops with pesticides once a week. They are well aware that a failure to do so would result in their apples being devoured by pests. Even if pesticides are used, any mistakes in the timing or method can result in damage to the apple trees. Without pesticides, it is unlikely that modern apple trees would ever have seen



the light of day. That is why, when Kimura declared his intention to grow apples without using pesticides, the other apple farmers around him were flabbergasted, believing that he must have gone mad. Kimura was serious, however. His original motive for taking on the challenge of growing apples without pesticides was the fact that his wife, who worked in his orchard, is allergic to the chemicals. It pained Kimura greatly that spraying the pesticides would often leave her laid up in bed. He therefore resolved to try growing apples without spraying these chemicals—no matter what anyone else thought.



A Long Journey In the first year, 1975, Kimura began by applying pesticides just six times a year, rather than suddenly eliminating them altogether. He was able to harvest his crop without any major problems, so the next year he reduced the number of sprayings to three, and then to one the year after that. Despite some pest damage, again he was able to harvest the crop without any major problems. Then, in 1978, Kimura attempted to grow a crop completely free of pesticide. The trees were struck by a disease called alternaria blotch, however, which caused all the leaves to fall off. Despite being aghast at this re-



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sult, Kimura set about finding something other than pesticide to defeat the disease. He tried applying shochu (distilled liquor), salt, grated garlic—anything edible, in fact—but none of them had any perceptible effect. As Kimura was repeating this process of trial and error, opposition to his effort from the surrounding community grew and grew. Aomori Prefecture, where Kimura lives, has a long-standing ordinance regarding apple diseases that instructs farmers to make thorough use of pesticides to eliminate pathogens. Farmers who fail to take proper measures can be punished by forcible felling of their trees and with a fine. The strict rules reflect Aomori’s status as the source of 40% of Japan’s total apple production. People from neighboring farms had been sympathetic to Kimura’s effort at first, but, fearing contamination from the pests in his orchard, they began to criticize him fiercely. Financial difficulties exacerbated Kimura’s plight. For an apple farmer, no apples mean no income. For six straight years he told himself, “Let’s try it one more year,” during which time his apple trees grew weaker and weaker. Having exhausted their savings, the Kimuras were forced into a life of bare subsistence and borrowed money left and right from consumer finance companies and relatives. In the spring of 1985, the leaves fell again, confirming that there would be no crop that year. Unable to see a way out, that summer Kimura went into the mountains intending to take his own life. He had always gazed up at Mount Iwaki from its foot; now he climbed it for two hours before deciding that he had walked far enough. Looking around, he saw a tree that seemed just right. He tried to



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throw the rope he had brought with him over a suitable branch, but it slipped out of his fingers and flew off in a different direction. As he walked down the mountainside to retrieve the rope, an unusual sight caught his eye. There stood an apple tree, illuminated by moonlight. “What is an apple tree doing on a mountainside like this?” he wondered as he stared at his discovery. The tree was completely different from those in his orchard—healthy, free of pests, bursting with life. The surrounding area was filled with the fragrant aroma of fertile soil, and when Kimura pushed back the weeds, some of which came up to his shoulders, he found that the ground underneath was soft and moist, as if it had been laid with cushions. At that moment, Kimura was struck by a flash of inspiration. “This is the answer,” he thought, and returned home full of hope. The next day, he went back to the same spot and discovered that the tree was actually a young oak, not an apple tree. He also found that the soil around it was completely different from that of his own orchard. The tree taught him that the key to growing healthy apple trees was to create soil teeming with bacterial and fungal life. Until then he had only paid attention to what was happening above ground, such as by tracking the state of his trees’ leaves and cutting back weeds, but he now realized that this had been a terrible mistake. This was Kimura’s eureka moment. He pushed forward, convinced that his apple trees would bear fruit if only he could recreate the mountain environment. While no fertilizer is applied to a wild mountainside, rich soil is created as fallen leaves and dead wood rot



and are broken down by microorganisms. To apply this process to his apple field, Kimura left the various weeds at the base of his trees to their own devices. The summer of 1986, by which time the weeds were growing tall, was the first time that Kimura’s apple trees did not shed their leaves. Wild rabbits, weasels, field mice, and other fauna began to appear in the field. Worms also moved in and started excreting large amounts of waste matter. The best way to maintain the natural balance is simply to leave everything to nature’s myriad processes; humans can do little more than help these processes to run smoothly. Kimura watched over his apple trees as they recovered, giving them only minimal assistance by planting soybeans— which are said to promote the growth of fungi that provide nutrients to the soil—at the base of his trees, and spraying his field with vinegar, which is thought to prevent major pest outbreaks. After 10 long years without a harvest, in 1987 his trees finally produced apples.



A Complex Ecosystem “The soil in Mr. Kimura’s apple field teems with even more microorganisms than a wild patch of ground left unattended,” says Professor Shuichi Sugiyama of Hirosaki University’s Faculty of Agriculture and Life Science. “The amazing thing about Mr. Kimura’s field is that it’s host to a complex ecosystem that achieves a delicate balance between so many different organisms. Is it free of pests? No, beneficial insects and harmful insects live there side by side. The distinction between beneficial and harmful organisms is entirely manmade; no such categories exist in the natural world. What can



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have a negative impact in the natural world is when one species multiplies to become abnormally abundant, disturbing the complex balance of the ecosystem. In that sense, there are no organisms that have a bad influence in Mr. Kimura’s field. This is because Mr. Kimura closely observes not only his trees but the condition of the soil and controls things so that the complex ecosystem is not disturbed. This means that even when there is an outbreak of disease, there are mechanisms in place to prevent major damage and minimize the impact. “Good soil doesn’t need fertilizer, and healthy trees don’t need pesticides. Even in organic farming, disinfectants are sometimes used as pesticide and cow dung used as fertilizer, but vinegar is the only outside agent used in Mr. Kimura’s natural farming method. Nothing else. He leaves everything to the workings of nature, providing only a helping hand. He has successfully applied his method to rice paddies and dry fields. I think Mr. Kimura’s method of farming is totally unique.”



Harnessing Nature’s Power The apples produced by Kimura are crisp and juicy. They contain a lot of nectar and are extremely tasty with just the right level of sweetness and tartness. When picked, they can be left for almost a year without spoiling. Unlike ordinary apples, which soon go bad, Kimura’s fruit retains its freshness. It is the sturdiness of his trees that enables him to produce such highquality apples. “Using pesticide and fertilizer on apples is like keeping a person in an isolated hospital room and pumping them with a continuous stream of drugs and artificial nu-



trition,” says Kimura. “The trees in my field shed their leaves in winter, but apple trees in fields where pesticides and fertilizers have been applied keep their bright green leaves even during the cold months. This is completely unnatural for an apple tree. Such trees may not get diseases, but neither can they be described as healthy. “That kind of © Shuichi Sugiyama farming has helped The “miracle apples” grown by Kimura. humankind to escape from hunger, so one cannot say it’s all bad. Today, howseven years ago to learn Kimura’s ever, I can’t help thinking that the methods. He visits the country evcontradictions of modern agriculery year to provide instruction, ture are bubbling to the surface all and this year saw the first successat once. Recently there have been ful harvest of naturally grown apreports of pesticides and fertilizers ples. A company called Nature’s causing environmental problems was founded to support Kimura’s like water pollution and the deactivities by coordinating his lecstruction of the ozone layer. I’m tures and workshops on natural convinced that we are now enterfarming. ing an era in which we must come Hiroyasu Date, the company’s up with farming methods that harrepresentative, observes: “I think ness the energy of nature as much Mr. Kimura’s farming methods and as possible and that do not involve philosophy will be increasingly impesticides or fertilizers—not just portant in overcoming global envifor food safety reasons but also ronmental problems. Many people from an ecological standpoint.” hesitate when taking up natural In the past few years, the numfarming because they fear they will ber of people sharing Kimura’s enface a long period without income, thusiasm for natural farming has so we intend to consider establishbeen growing dramatically. His ing a fund to provide financial asfarm has been featured frequently sistance during that initial period. on Japanese TV, and Kimura reWe want to find ways to spread Mr. ceives a constant stream of invitaKimura’s natural farming method tions to give talks in regions all around the world, instead of leavover the country. More than 500 ing it as something practiced by farming heirs bring their fathers to just one person.” seek Kimura’s advice every year, The seeds sown by Kimura’s and the farm also gets regular visits “miracle apples” have the potential from overseas. In South Korea, in to inspire a global change in farmparticular, a movement began ing attitudes. April 2010 27