Yachita

Japanese: 谷地田 - やちた

Paddy fields distributed in lowlands, or valleys, formed by the dissection of a plateau. They are also called yatsuda. Generally, these were developed in wetlands long ago, but because they lacked abundant water sources, many of them became rain-fed fields, and rice was cultivated by storing rainwater and small amounts of spring water. For this reason, it was not possible to drain the fields in the valleys even outside the rice planting season, and they were often artificially kept wet. Wet paddy soil that is constantly flooded develops a reducing state, making it unsuitable for growing rice, and the yield is generally low.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

台地が開析されてできた谷間の低地すなわち谷地に分布する水田。谷津田（やつだ）ともいう。一般に湿地で古く開発されたが，豊かな水源に恵まれないため，それらの多くは天水田となり，雨水やわずかな湧水を貯留して水稲作が営まれた。このような事情から谷地田では，水稲の作付け期間以外でも排水を行うことができず，人為的に湿田となっている場合が多い。常時湛水（たんすい）下におかれる湿田土壌は，還元状態が発達するため，水稲の生育には不適で収量は概して低い。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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