On July 7, 2022, second year students from Senior High School at Komaba, University of Tsukuba visited the Tsukuba-Plant Innovation Research Center and attended a lecture by Professor Hayashi.
The students learned on rice, the staple food of Japanese people, from the perspective of crop science through practical training. They analyzed the appearance and taste of nine varieties of rice, and discussed the quality of them. Then they analyzed the taste values and composition of the rice which they eat at home. The students were curious to see how the differences they could observe with their own eyes could be analyzed and evaluated by the analytical equipment. After the students evaluated the quality of rice varieties, they observed 134 varieties of rice being grown in a paddy field. As they had said at the beginning of the course that they were looking forward to learning more about their field of interest, the students were enthusiastic about the course from start to finish.
