In an asparagus field at Cobrey Farms
From left: Professor MOTOKI, FUTAMI, and farm owner John Chinn
Professor MOTOKI Satoru of the Vegetable Horticulture Laboratory, Department of Agriculture, School of Agriculture, and FUTAMI Mona, a second-year master’s student at the laboratory who was selected for Meiji University’s Graduate Student Overseas Research Program, visited five leading asparagus farms in the UK from August 6 to 20. They exchanged information with growers on the adoption in the UK of whole harvest cultivation,* a new asparagus cultivation method developed by the laboratory.
*Whole harvest cultivation: Registered trademark of Sanatech Seed Co., Ltd. The official name is “whole harvest cultivation method of one-year-old plants. The world’s first one-year harvest rotation cultivation method for asparagus, developed by the Vegetable Horticulture Laboratory
Among the growers visited were Mr. and Mrs. Chinn of Cobrey Farms, who visited Meiji University’s Ikuta Campus in May 2025 to exchange information with the Vegetable Horticulture Laboratory about whole harvest cultivation. Cobley Farms is a historic farm established in Herefordshire, UK, in 1925. The total area is over 2000 hectares, of which over 1000 hectares are used for asparagus cultivation. This is equivalent to approximately one-quarter of Japan’s total asparagus cultivation area in 2024.
The visits to the other farms, Portwood Farm (J W Allen & Sons), J L Ashby & Co Ltd, and Wykham Park Farm, were arranged following an introduction from the British Asparagus Growers Association through Dr. Wenjing Chen of Walker Brothers Seeds & Plants, LLC in the United States, with which the Vegetable Horticulture Laboratory has previously conducted joint research.
*Whole harvest cultivation: Registered trademark of Sanatech Seed Co., Ltd. The official name is “whole harvest cultivation method of one-year-old plants. The world’s first one-year harvest rotation cultivation method for asparagus, developed by the Vegetable Horticulture Laboratory
Among the growers visited were Mr. and Mrs. Chinn of Cobrey Farms, who visited Meiji University’s Ikuta Campus in May 2025 to exchange information with the Vegetable Horticulture Laboratory about whole harvest cultivation. Cobley Farms is a historic farm established in Herefordshire, UK, in 1925. The total area is over 2000 hectares, of which over 1000 hectares are used for asparagus cultivation. This is equivalent to approximately one-quarter of Japan’s total asparagus cultivation area in 2024.
The visits to the other farms, Portwood Farm (J W Allen & Sons), J L Ashby & Co Ltd, and Wykham Park Farm, were arranged following an introduction from the British Asparagus Growers Association through Dr. Wenjing Chen of Walker Brothers Seeds & Plants, LLC in the United States, with which the Vegetable Horticulture Laboratory has previously conducted joint research.
At the produce shipping facility at Portwood Farm
From left: farm owner Andy Allen, FUTAMI, and Claire Donkin of the British Asparagus Growers Association
Following Mr. and Mrs. Chinn’s visit to Meiji University in 2025, it was agreed that trial cultivation would be conducted in both the UK and Japan with a view to introducing whole harvest cultivation for asparagus in the UK. The Vegetable Horticulture Laboratory is currently developing a new version of the cultivation method that takes the UK climate into account. Meanwhile, Cobrey Farms is selecting suitable varieties and conducting high-density planting trials for the introduction of the method in the UK.
The new asparagus cultivation method developed by the Vegetable Horticulture Laboratory is expected to further strengthen ties between the UK and Japan and pave the way for future collaborative research.
High-density planting trial
≪Japanese version≫