Establishing a foundation for avocado self-sufficiency – The Maui News

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Hawaii is a net importer of avocados, although the trees grow luxuriantly in many of our islands’ microclimates. In season, the Saturday farmers market at Eddie Tam in Makawao presents many varieties, from big, fat, light green and smooth to small, dark and nubbly.

Now the UH College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, the Hawaii Tropical Fruit Growers Association and the Kona Kohala Chefs Association are uniting to establish a foundation for self-sufficiency in the fruit.

"We’re looking for a few great avocados from seedlings and unknown grafted trees to be evaluated by horticulturists and chefs," said Ken Love, HTFG executive director. "Chosen fruit will be propagated and planted at the UH experiment station in Kainaliu (on the Big Island) and protected so future generations will have access to it."

Agriculture Leadership Foundation accepting applicants

HONOLULU – The Agricultural Leadership Foundation of Hawaii is accepting applications for its latest class in the Agriculture Leadership Program: Class XIII.

The program is for promising leaders from Hawaii’s agriculture, natural resources management and rural community sectors. “Through this program, individuals who have already demonstrated a commitment to lead in their line of work or community activities will develop the knowledge, relationships, tools and skills that will enable them to be more successful in their work and all community endeavors,” said Executive Director Kim Coffee-Isaak.

“For Class XIII, the program is now being opened to professionals in natural resources management,” said Coffee-Isaak, adding that the hope is to “create stronger bridges between Hawaii’s agricultural and conservation communities.”

Recruitment information can be found at www.agleaderhi.org program_recruitment.htm. The deadline is July 2.

For any other questions on the Agriculture Leadership Program, call 947-2914 in Honolulu or visit www.agleaderhi.org.

Agriculture Leadership Foundation accepting applicants – Mauinews.com | News, Sports, Jobs, Visitor’s Information – The Maui News

Hawaii and Related Agriculture Daily Charts for the week ending 05-14-2010

Hawaii and Related Agriculture Daily Charts for the week ending 05-14-2010
hawaii-agriculture-logo

The annual charts have bee updated. CLICK HERE to view.

The 360 day comparative price, line and histogram charts, page has been updated also. CLICK HERE to view.

Maui Land and Pineapple (MLP) 05-14-2010
Maui Land and Pineapple (MLP)

Whole Food Markets (WFMI) 05-14-2010
Whole Food Markets (WFMI)

Calavo Growers (CVGW) 05-14-2010
Calavo Growers (CVGW)

Alexander and Baldwin (ALEX) 05-14-2010
alexweek051210

Monsanto (MON) 05-14-2010
Monsanto (MON)

Syngenta (SYT) 05-14-2010
Syngenta (SYT)

DUPONT E I DE NEM (DD) 05-14-2010
Syngenta (SYT)

Carludovica ‘Jungle Drum’ « Gardening with Wilson

A new palm-like houseplant with attractive, uniformly green but relatively stiff and pleated leaves that are curiously split halfway in the center to give two lobes has surfaced in our local nurseries. The identity of this new introduction is given as Caulodovica ‘Jungle Drum’ but its true identity is still under debate. Although it is named as a cultivar of Caulodovica, there are sources on the Internet that suggest that it can also be either an Asplundia or Cyclanthus.

Little information about the care of this new houseplant is available at present and no one really knows for sure how big it will really grow. To infer some information, I referred what is known about the most common cultivated Carludovica species, C. palmata, commonly known as the Panama Hat Plant. A member of the Cyclanthaceae family, its young leaves are used to make the Panama brimmed hat. A native of tropical America, it thrives in the shady and wet lowland forest understorey and can grow up to about 2 m.

From this, I safely guess that Caulodovica ‘Jungle Drum’ will probably grow well under roughly the same environmental conditions. So far, I have grown ‘Jungle Drum’ in a well draining, fertile and moisture-retentive soil mixture which consists of burnt earth and well rotted compost has yielded relatively good results.

Because it is an understorey plant, I expect my plant to burn if placed under too bright an area.

ML&P’s ‘survive to thrive’ plan passes – The Maui News

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Votes authorize smaller board, more sales of common stock
By HARRY EAGAR, Staff Writer

After hearing about management’s plans to "survive to thrive" following a disastrous 2009, Maui Land & Pineapple Co.’s shareholders voted Thursday to accept two proposals designed to carry the company through its debt crisis.

The main vote, carried by 83 percent of the company’s shares and by 99 percent of the shares represented in person at Kapalua by owners or proxy holders, was to authorize 20 million shares of common stock.

This will be a rights offering, rather than an approach to the public market. Each shareholder would have a chance to buy new shares in the proportion that he or she owns of old shares.

Since there are 23 million shares outstanding, the offering is for almost, but not quite, one new share per old share.

And since Steve Case owns more shares than anybody, the offering’s success will depend upon his willingness to put new money into the company.

President Ryan Churchill said after the meeting that he couldn’t comment about whether Case had indicated he would be willing to put more tens of millions into the company.

Op-Ed Contributors – The Value of Genetically Engineered Foods – New York Times

Op-Ed Contributors

Genetically Engineered Distortions

By PAMELA C. RONALD and JAMES E. McWILLIAMS

A REPORT by the National Research Council last month gave ammunition to both sides in the debate over the cultivation of genetically engineered crops. More than 80 percent of the corn, soybeans and cotton grown in the United States is genetically engineered, and the report details the “long and impressive list of benefits” that has come from these crops, including improved soil quality, reduced erosion and reduced insecticide use.

It also confirmed predictions that widespread cultivation of these crops would lead to the emergence of weeds resistant to a commonly used herbicide, glyphosate (marketed by Monsanto as Roundup). Predictably, both sides have done what they do best when it comes to genetically engineered crops: they’ve argued over the findings.

Lost in the din is the potential role this technology could play in the poorest regions of the world — areas that will bear the brunt of climate change and the difficult growing conditions it will bring. Indeed, buried deep in the council’s report is an appeal to apply genetic engineering to a greater number of crops, and for a greater diversity of purposes.

Maui Land & Pineapple Reports 2010 1st Quarter Results – MarketWatch

KAHULUI, Hawaii, May 10, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Maui Land & Pineapple Company, Inc. reported a net loss of $2.7 million or $0.33 per share for the first quarter of 2010, compared to a net loss of $13.2 million or $1.65 per share for the first quarter of 2009. Consolidated revenues were $10.7 million for both the first quarter of 2010 and 2009. Better operating performance and overhead cost reductions, and $3.4 million of gains due to the termination of the Company’s post-retirement life insurance plan and the elimination of medical benefits for non-bargaining retirees resulted in improved financial performance in the first quarter of 2010. In addition, in December 2009, the Company ceased its Agriculture segment operations, which generated an operating loss of $2.5 million in the first quarter of 2009. The Company’s $50 million cash sale of the Plantation Golf Course in March 2009 was accounted for as a financing transaction and, accordingly, no gain was recognized in the first quarter of 2009 results.

Hawaii and Related Agriculture Daily Charts for the week ending 05-07-2010

hawaii-agriculture-logo

The annual charts have bee updated. CLICK HERE to view.

The 360 day comparative price, line and histogram charts, page has been updated also. CLICK HERE to view.

Maui Land and Pineapple (MLP) 05-07-2010
Maui Land and Pineapple (MLP)

Whole Food Markets (WFMI) 05-07-2010
Whole Food Markets (WFMI)

Calavo Growers (CVGW) 05-07-2010
Calavo Growers (CVGW)

Alexander and Baldwin (ALEX) 05-07-2010
alexweek050710

Monsanto (MON) 05-07-2010
Monsanto (MON)

Syngenta (SYT) 05-07-2010
Syngenta (SYT)

DUPONT E I DE NEM (DD) 05-07-2010
Syngenta (SYT)

Letters to the Editor – The Maui News

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Store in Paia deserves loyalty

I remember the day Mana Food in Paia opened. It was a tiny, dark, two-room store of small size and few products. In fact, on many days afterward, the owner didn’t have money to stack many of the shelves.

Since then, the store has grown, spread out, diversified and prospered. It has also served the community with respect to wholesome, organic food at reasonable prices. It also brought people to Paia, which helped the other shops.

Since Whole Foods opened, traffic at Mana has slowed. Obviously, with the price of gas being what it is and the lack of parking in Paia, one would expect that people from the central valley and South Maui would change their habits and shop in Kahului. There is also something to be said for novelty. But there is more to be said for loyalty.

If you compare prices and if you search your conscience, I think you will agree: Mana is an old friend that deserves our support.

Raphael O’Suna

Haiku

Letters to the Editor – Mauinews.com | News, Sports, Jobs, Visitor’s Information – The Maui News