2015 – Nihopeku

March 6, 2015

Professor Lu visits China

Professor Lu presented academic reports at three universities and visited goat and sheep breeding farms and industrial technology demonstration bases.

Christopher Lu standing with colleague in sheep facility. — Christopher Lu (left) visits facility in China.

Professor Lu standing, speaking to large class of students on tiered seating. — Professor Lu addresses class during his trip to China.

Christopher Lu, professor of animal science at the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resource Management at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, presented academic reports to the faculty and graduate students at three universities in China in May-June 2014. The trip was at the invitation of Sichuan Agricultural University, Hebei Agricultural University, and Anhui Agricultural University.

See International Goat Association website, Aug. 21, 2014: Dr. Christopher Lu visits Sichuan, China, May 11 to 23

Lu also visited goat and sheep breeding farms and industrial technology demonstration bases, part of comprehensive test stations sponsored by ministries in China.

March 2, 2015

Course on agroforestry for Hawai‘i Island residents, held on five Saturdays starting March 14

The first session will explore the concepts and practices of agroforestry that are most appropriate for farms and ranches here on Hawai‘i Island.

INSTRUCTOR: Zach Mermel of OLA Design Group

COURSE LENGTH: 6-hour sessions, over a series of five Saturdays (30 hours total)

LOCATION: College of Agriculture Building, Room 102, University of Hawai‘i at Hilo, the adjacent UH Hilo greenhouse, and various agroforestry sites in East Hawai‘i

Session 1: Overview of Agroforestry Practices for Hawaii’s Farmers (March 14th).
In this introductory session, we’ll explore the concepts and practices of agroforestry that are most appropriate for farms and ranches here on Hawai‘i Island.

February 27, 2015

Kalo, a traditional staple in Hawai‘i

Over 60 varieties of dry land kalo have been cultivated by farmers on the Big Island.

By Rory Akau.

Taro While kalo (taro; Colocasia esculenta) is a common staple crop found throughout the South Pacific, Hawaiians were the only Pacific Islanders to produce pa‘i‘ai, or poi, from the kalo corm. Rather than spoil, poi ferments and was sometimes stashed alongside trails for hungry travelers.

To make poi traditionally, steamed or boiled taro corms are pounded between papa ku‘ i‘ai (wood board) and ku‘ i‘ai pohaku (poi pounder) with a small amount of water until the mixture forms a thick paste. This pulverizing action removes most of the air from the starch to extend shelf life.

February 27, 2015

The unforgettable aphid

There are over 4,000 species of aphids and they often travel by wind or as a stow away on other plants and animals.

By Malaika Ross.

A cluster of dark aphids on a green leaf. — Aphids. Photo by Tricia Hogbin.

While working with my Sustainable Agriculture team on our garden plot, we encountered small black insects, which clustered on the leaves of the garden’s citrus plant. With a little investigative work we learned our citrus tree was experiencing an aphid (Aphidoidea) infestation. Since no one in the group had encountered aphids outside of our weekly gardening sessions, we were hoping aphids would be benign, but we quickly learned aphids cause substantial damage to plants.

February 27, 2015

UH Hilo working with Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture on statewide survey of farms and water sources

The baseline data this project will generate will be useful for decision makers and farmers as the state moves agriculture forward.

Aerial map of North Kohala with an overlay of graphics showing various farm crops color coded by commodity. — North Kohala Crop Land Summary from the Hawai‘i County Food Self-Sufficiency Baseline Study 2012. HDOA and UH Hilo are now surveying all agricultural lands throughout the state. Click to enlarge.

The Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture (HDOA) is collaborating with the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo on a statewide agricultural survey to provide a digital depiction of the 2015 agricultural footprint of the state. The project will include mapping current agricultural activity statewide, as well as water systems and irrigation options available to farmers and ranchers.

“The product is intended as a baseline depiction of our current agricultural use and will help to measure progress in the expansion of all agriculture, and particularly local food production, across the state,” says Jeff Melrose, a land planner and longtime agricultural land manager who is serving at HDOA as project manager of the survey.

February 25, 2015

Most food served at UH Hilo comes from local farms and suppliers

UH Hilo is the only campus of the 10-campus UH System that serves 65 percent locally produced food.

By Kara Nelson, Senior, English, Communication.

Reid Kusano and Bridget Awong — (l-r) Reid Kusano, who does catering and retail for UH Hilo Dining Services, and Bridget Awong, general manager. Kusano is holding a tray of local greens, and Awong local sweet potato. Courtesy photo.

If farm-fresh vegetables with locally grass-fed beef or fresh-caught fish is your idea of the perfect meal, then the Dining Services at University of Hawai‘i at Hilo is where you’ll want to eat. Each day, 65 percent of the food served is from local sources, increasing five percent since 2012. Once a month, the daily menu is 100 percent locally grown food.

This is the result of “Local First,” a program started in 2006 by Bridget Awong, general manager of Sodexo Dining Services at UH Hilo. Awong is a down-to-earth local foodie and chef who is passionate about helping local farmers while providing quality food and services to the UH Hilo community.

February 20, 2015

Organic and conventional agricultural systems can and do coexist

At the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resource Management at UH Hilo, we are concerned with food production and sustainability, and we value and promote all effective agricultural systems.

By Michael Shintaku, Professor of Plant Pathology.

We have some very serious plant disease problems in Hawai‘i, and plant disease issues keep farmers and conservationists awake at night, as disease-causing pathogens too often take everything away.

A good example of technology used for plant disease management is right in our own back yard. Papaya ringspot virus (PRSV) arrived in Puna in 1992 and rapidly spread through Puna and Kea‘au, killing every papaya tree it infected. The industry and almost every backyard papaya tree would be long gone if not for the transgenic solution provided by Dr. Dennis Gonsalves’s research team, who developed transgenic papaya plants (now widely planted) with PRSV resistance.

February 20, 2015

How to grow your own edible mushrooms

BRF tek is a fast method of growing your own mushrooms, with the whole process taking just two to three months.

By Matthew Roderick.

Book cover "Mushrooms," with photo of mushrooms. — Mushrooms: Cultivation, Nutritional Value, Medicinal Effect, and Environmental Impact (2004) by Philip G. Miles and Shu-Ting Chang is a good source for information on growing your own edible mushrooms.

Mushroom cultivation at home may be simpler than you think. As a hobby, for profit, or as a viable means for developing food security, growing mushrooms has become an increasingly popular practice for those who enjoy the healthy and flavorful benefits of mushrooms. These would be edible varieties such as shiitake, portobello, oyster, lions mane, and pioppino, to name just a few.

Mushrooms have been renowned for thousands of years for their therapeutic effects, medicinal nature, and highly nutritious quality. In addition to containing a good source of protein, many mushrooms, especially gourmet varieties, are shown to have antiviral, anticancer, antibiotic, and anti-inflammatory properties, as well as immune strengthening and cardio protective compounds.

February 20, 2015

UH Hilo Filipino Studies Certificate integrates sustainable agriculture into curriculum

To learn about the Philippines, one has to learn about its agriculture, a huge part of the Filipino culture.

The Filipino Studies Certificate program at the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo is perhaps the only Filipino studies program in the U.S. that integrates sustainable agriculture into its curriculum. Rodney Jubilado, assistant professor of Filipino and coordinator of the certificate program, stresses that in order to learn about the Philippines, one has to learn about its agriculture, which is a huge part of the Filipino culture.

“The focus here is the Philippines, which is an agricultural country” says Jubilado, whose family in the Philippines owns a farm that grows coffee, coconut and cacao.

Jubilado is a prolific writer and researcher and has shared his articles in numerous venues such as international conferences in various countries in Asia, Australia, and America. He is well published in international journals, edited academic journals, books, and manuscripts, supervised graduate and doctoral students, and is a member of professional organizations of his field and allied disciplines.

February 18, 2015

Dean’s Column: Sustainable intensification of smallholder agriculture

Farmers need to base their decisions on facts, rather than misleading or inaccurate information and activist dogma, for sustainable intensification of agriculture to achieve its potential.

By Bruce Mathews, Interim Dean of the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resource Management, University of Hawai‘i at Hilo.

There is presently a disconnect between the economic reality of Hawai‘i’s working farmers, educators, and the well-intentioned sustainability and food sovereignty idealism of governmental leaders, politicians, and community activists.

At most community agricultural meetings in Hawaiʻi, there are candid discussions regarding the growth and development constraints faced by the smallholder crop and livestock sectors. These discussions revolve around strong import competition from large continental-based operations, heavy dependence on imported energy and nutrient inputs for our farms, and a myriad of challenges associated with lease land, access to water and adequate infrastructure, labor constraints, lack of applied research and extension outreach, marketing, ability to comply with regulations, access to promising new cultivars, security, building equity, and sufficient financing.