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Packed with practical examples of input application for growers — achieving high yields, coping with high temperatures, reducing fertilizer and pesticide useNew Book Announcement
In mid-February 2025, the latest book by Professor Kazuhiko Watanabe will be released!

New Insights into Nutrients / Master Farmers’ Field Note / Practical Use of Humic and Fulvic AcidsPractical Techniques of Master Farmers – Secrets They Rarely Share.

＜Author Profile＞Wishing happiness for as many people as possible

Kazuhiko Watanabe, Ph.D. in Agriculture

We are pleased to announce the launch of the official website for the book “Practical Techniques of Master Farmers – Secrets They Rarely Share.”
In this book, Dr. Watanabe introduces innovative cultivation methods developed by master farmers, going beyond conventional high school biology and Liebig’s theory. It features numerous practical techniques that even beginners can implement, including the use of ethanol, vegetable oils, and humic substances (humic and fulvic acids), yield enhancement through foliar absorption, and solar heat curing methods. To help shape the future of Japanese agriculture, we invite you to explore both this book and the official website.

Profile
Kazuhiko Watanabe, Ph.D.
Doctor of Agriculture (Kyoto University)
Chairman and Director, Institute for Health Research of Food and Agriculture, General Incorporated Association
Technical Advisor, Soil and Health Promotion Committee, Japan Healthcare Association (Public Interest Incorporated Foundation)
Former Director, Environmental Division, Hyogo Prefectural Technology Center for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
Former Visiting Professor, Tokyo University of Agriculture

Born in Osaka Prefecture in 1943.
Completed the Master’s Program in Agricultural Chemistry, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University in 1968.
Joined the Hyogo Prefectural Agricultural Experiment Station as a researcher in the Chemistry Department in the same year.
Received a Ph.D. in Agriculture from Kyoto University in 1977.
Awarded the Japan Society of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition Award for the research “Studies on Nutritional Diagnostic Methods for Soils and Crops.”
Received the Director-General of the Science and Technology Agency Award in 1988 for contributions to ensuring safety in the handling of radioactive isotopes.
Since his student days at Kyoto University (Laboratory of Prof. Zenzaburo Kasai), he has conducted research using radioisotopes to develop diagnostic methods for soil and crop nutrition. At the Hyogo Agricultural Experiment Station, he was also responsible for managing the radioisotope laboratory and overseeing safety control.
For over a decade, his name has appeared in Keirinkan high school physics and chemistry textbooks as the provider of photographs illustrating the behavior of fertilizers within rice plants.
To date, he has published approximately 30 books, mainly available through online bookstores.
Of particular note, after returning to China, Professor Luo Xiaoyong, who had studied at the University of Tsukuba, translated one of the book “Diagnosis and Countermeasures for Deficiency and Excess of Nutrient Elements in Crops” into simplified Chinese. It was published in 2017 by Science Press, one of China’s leading publishers. A Nepali edition has also been released by JICA. He commented,” Although I cannot read the language at all and only recognize my own photograph on the back cover, I am delighted to think that my work may contribute, even in a small way, to the development of agriculture in Nepal”.

Easy and accessible reading, even for farmers

I would like to write a little about myself.
Some years ago, I had the opportunity to give about six lectures over a two-year period at the University of Tokyo. Some of these were part of the general education program. After one of the lectures, a student came up to me and asked candidly, “Professor Watanabe, why were you invited to give lectures here?” As I was not a graduate of the University of Tokyo, I found myself at a loss for words.
It has taken me 40 years, but I believe the answer can be found in this book. This volume presents concrete techniques that can dramatically increase agricultural production throughout Japan while simultaneously improving the environment. I am convinced that these methods will eventually spread across the world. I often wonder whether that student still remembers me. I sincerely hope he will read this book today. After 40 years, his question may finally be answered.

Finally, I would like to highlight a particularly important point in connection with both this book and the launch of its official website: the use of humic substances—humic and fulvic acids—which have long been known to be essential for achieving high crop yields. In particular, I wish to emphasize the application of HS-2_Ⓡ Pro, a product extracted using a world-first method developed by my co-author, Mr. Yasushi Kojima of K2 Communications. Unlike conventional products derived from low-rank coal, lignite, or peat, HS-2_Ⓡ Pro is a biostimulant produced by simultaneously extracting and solubilizing humic and fulvic acids from composted softwood thinning materials, using patented technology without any chemical agents. When applied to crops, it not only promotes growth, enhances tolerance to environmental stress, and increases yields, but also produces remarkable environmental benefits. In paddy fields, for example, it supports the growth of tadpoles and loaches, demonstrating its clear positive impact on the ecosystem.
 
Yoshiaki Ochiai, an onion grower from Awaji Island whom I proudly call my foremost disciple (see pp. 231 and 299), speaks highly of this product, saying, “Once I tried it during the seedling stage, I simply couldn’t do without it.” I strongly encourage farmers to actively make use of such innovative new materials.
With this book and the English research paper on HS-2_Ⓡ Pro published in August 2025 by Professor Emeritus Masakazu Aoyama of Hirosaki University, I firmly believe that an era of dramatic global increases in agricultural productivity will soon arrive. That is how significant and far-reaching the content and implications of this work truly are.

Kazuhiko Watanabe

Key Points from the Book

Practical Techniques from Dedicated Farmers: Secrets We Don't Want to Share
The Effects of Magnesium
This book compiles the highly acclaimed series “A Revolutionary Production Method Safe for Both Plants and People,” originally serialized in the magazine ‘Agriculture and Horticulture’.

The Potential Brought by Practical Techniques of Master FarmersSix Key Points

1) Learn from master farmers
Master farmeres achieve high yields by applying practical techniques refined through hands-on experience. This book introduces their proven know-how in a clear and accessible way.
2) Rethink conventional knowledge
We need fresh perspectives that are not bound by conventional high school biology. Master farmers put into practice techniques that go beyond conventional theories.
3) A new understanding of nutrient absorption
Plants absorb nutrients not only through their roots but also through their leaves. The use of ethanol, vegetable oils, and humic substances (humic and fulvic acids) contributes to higher yields. Proper management of sunlight and soil is also essential.
4) Reexamining Liebig’s theory
Professor Satoshi Mori (University of Tokyo) began questioning Liebig’s theory more than 45 years ago and has shared his views at academic conferences ever since. Although his ideas were not widely accepted at the time, this book demonstrates that his insights were correct and that they point the way toward the practices of master farmers.
5) Organic farming and the latest case studies
This book introduces advanced initiatives such as research by RIKEN and the BLOF theory, as well as practical techniques that even beginners can adopt, including solar heat treatment of compost.
6) Purpose of this book
This book was not published for profit or personal recognition.
Our hope is that as many farmers as possible will make use of its content to improve their incomes and contribute to the development of agriculture. We also aim for this book to serve as a catalyst for reexamining past knowledge and spreading more practical, field-oriented agricultural techniques.

[Appendix] Mr. Ochiai (Awaji Island, Hyogo Prefecture — see Chapter 2, Section 5)— Introducing materials that have proven effective through actual use —

At present, I am a private citizen.
Therefore, there should be no issue in openly disclosing the names of materials and their suppliers that I consider beneficial and including them in this book.
What I introduce here are items that I personally recommended to Mr. Ochiai and that he, as a highly dedicated learner, has actually put into practice. Of course, I have not received a single yen from any of the companies concerned. My sole purpose is to promote awareness, share knowledge, and ultimately contribute to the advancement of agriculture. I would be most grateful if readers would make full use of this section, which I consider one of the most important information pages in this book.

●Product Information

Suical_ⓇKoei Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.

1-7-34 Nishiki, Naka-ku, Nagoya City, Aichi 460-0003, Japan
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