On apple cultivation in tokushima prefecture

Abstract

The history of apple-growing in Kagawa Prefecture, in the Shikoku region, is an old one beginning first in the middle period of the Meiji era. But the area under cultivation for this crops in this prefecture has decreased gradually since 1953, when it was most extensively cultivated, having partly been replaced by some other crops such as tangerine orange. However, the situation is quite different in Tokushima prefecture, Kagawa's neighbor, where the area under cultivation for apples showed a sudden, remarkable increase since 1953 to 54, with a gradual declining only in recent years. These facts tell that apple cultivation in these two prefectures, in spite of the similarities in their natural and climatic conditions, has undergone a quite different transition. In this paper, the author has tried to clarify the various reasons why in Tokushima prefecture, which is relatively warm and apparently not a suitable area for apples, apple growing really flourished even for a short period, and especially why it has fallen into decay. What sort of difficulties and problems caused this sudden decline are also the important point of disussion here. Thanks to the untiring efforts of Mr. Kenji Tada, who as a grower as well an investigator, valiantly recommended apples as the most profitable crop, and that of the authorities concerned, apple farms spread extensively in Mima and Miyoshi counties, whose location is along the Yoshino River in the western part of this prefecture. However, apple production began to decrease, though in the up-stream area of the Yoshino River it is less affected. Some of the reasons for this may be listed as follows. © 1966, The Human Geographical Society of Japan. All rights reserved.