In our plum orchard located in Kikuka Town, Yamagakishi, Kumamoto Prefecture, we are working on measures against wild boars and other harmful animals.
Wild boars prefer to eat tree roots, which causes them to dig large holes and disturb the fields.(↑A large hole dug by a wild boar)
While weeding, not noticing the hole can lead to the weeding machine falling into it, requiring towing by a truck...
To prevent such damage in the future, we have installed a fence as a new measure against pests!A fence approximately 1 km long is installed to enclose our plum orchard, which has about 500 plum trees planted.
Wild boars are surprisingly strong and attempt to dig under the fence to intrude, so ground measures are also important.

Additionally, alongside the installation of the fence, we are also carrying out the pruning of plum trees in preparation for spring.

If left unattended, plum branches can grow to an unmanageable extent, making management difficult, so the overall balance is adjusted to encourage outward growth of the branches.
Making incorrect cuts can affect the fruiting, so this is an important task that requires experience and judgment.Small flowers have already started to bloom!

I hope that the measures taken against wild boars will result in less damage.