Month: May 2011

May 14, 2011 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Yangtze shipping halted

Drought on China’s Yangtze river has led to historically low levels that have forced authorities to halt shipping on the nation’s longest waterway.It was barely three meters near Wuhan, the Chang Jiang Waterway Bureau said yesterday.

A day earlier, the bureau closed a 228-kilometer stretch above Wuhan to sea-going vessels, fearing ships would become stuck on the bottom.

Further up the river, the massive Three Gorges Dam, the world’s biggest hydroelectric project, has discharged more water to alleviate the drought conditions down river.

It was not immediately clear if the measures would be effective as the drought in areas around the middle reaches has levels at the lowest point in five decades, the China Daily said.

At least two ships have just been stranded, with that part of the river cut to an average width of about 150 meters.

According to Wang Jingquan of the Yangtze River Water Resources Committee, slowing the Yangtze with the controversial Three Gorges Dam has aggravated the drought by diverting flow to the lower reaches.

The 6,300-kilometer Yangtze is indispensable to the economies of many cities along its route.

Yangtze shipping halted – The Standard

May 14, 2011 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Brush fire burns sugar cane on Maui

A brushfire burned about 10 acres of cane field in Paia early this morning, Maui County officials reported.

Firefighters responded to the 1:22 a.m. fire at the Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co. site on Baldwin Avenue between Paia Elementary School and Rainbow County Park, Maui County spokesman Rod Antone said.

Plantation workers helped firefighters battle the blaze, which was declared under control by 3:30 a.m., Antone said. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. The fire may have started close to Baldwin Avenue. The cane burned was close to harvest and the company may be able to salvage some of the crop, officials said.

Brush fire burns sugar cane on Maui – Hawaii News – Staradvertiser.com

May 13, 2011 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Wind partner unable to find location

First Wind Hawaii, the principal partner of Maui’s Kaheawa Wind Farm, has apparently been frozen out of the no-bid project called “Big Wind” that is a centerpiece of the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative.

First Wind officials said they were not able to find a site to locate a proposed 200-megawatt wind farm on Molokai, because the island’s major landowner, Molokai Ranch, refused to negotiate with them. Last month, the Public Utilities Commission rejected First Wind’s request for more time to identify a location for the project, ruling that First Wind was not a party to the 2008 agreement that evaded the usual competitive bidding process.

“We’re disappointed, but it was not unexpected,” said John Lamontagne, director of corporate com-munications for First Wind. “We appreciate the PUC’s consideration.”

First Wind Chief Executive Officer Paul Gaynor warned the PUC in a letter in March that if plans for a Molokai wind farm falter, “the state would have put itself in a situation where there is a single point of failure – the Lanai wind farm.”

The no-bid project stems from an earlier request by Hawaiian Electric Co. for companies to submit proposals for the development of 100 megawatts of renewable energy on Oahu.

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May 13, 2011 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

India’s top court imposes ban on ‘toxic’ pesticide

NEW DELHI – INDIA’S Supreme Court imposed a temporary ban on Friday on the pesticide endosulfan, which the government has resisted restricting despite curbs in 60 other countries around the world.

India is the world’s biggest producer of the chemical, which is widely sprayed on crops like rice and cotton even though it has been linked to birth defects and other health problems.

The Supreme Court bench, headed by Chief Justice of India S.H. Kapadia, declared that it was ‘the risk that is bothering us’ before imposing an eight-week temporary ban. ‘Even if one child suffers we do not want it on our heads. That is why we are imposing an all-India ban on the use and production of endosulfan.’

India’s top court has asked the Congress-led government to produce a report in eight weeks on whether the sale and production of endosulfan should be permanently restricted.

Representatives of 127 governments meeting in Geneva last month agreed to add endosulfan to the UN’s list of pollutants to be eliminated worldwide by 2012.

India, which supplies at least 70 per cent of endosulfan globally, initially strongly opposed the global ban. But it went along with the move after winning agreement for a phase-out period of 11 years to give give scientists and farmers time to find alternative pesticides and endosulfan producers scope to adjust.

India’s top court imposes ban on ‘toxic’ pesticide

May 12, 2011 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

State officials report first infestation of coffee berry borer in Kau

The first infestation of the coffee berry borer in the Kau district of the Big Island has been detected at a farm in Pahala, state agricultural officials announced today.

Infestations of the beetle, which threaten Hawaii’s $27 million coffee-growing industry, have been concentrated in West Hawaii.

The coffee berry borer, a small beetle native to Central Africa, bores into coffee beans and lays its eggs, its larvae feeding inside the bean.

State officials said they’re still assessing the extent of the infestation in Pahala and that farmers in the region are asked to inspect their fields and report any suspected coffee berry borers.

The state in February approved the use of the fungus Beauveria bassiana to control the spread of the coffee berry borer.

State officials report first infestation of coffee berry borer in Kau – Hawaii News – Staradvertiser.com

May 11, 2011 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

The dairy farmers who returned to Fukushima’s fallout path

“The alarm is ringing. That means danger,” says Keiko Sanpei, above, with a nervous laugh as she looks at a meter which shows radiation levels, at her dairy farm, more than five times the health limit. “I was afraid when I first returned. But being with the cows, that fear goes away.”

Sanpei’s home is in Namie, a radiation hotspot 17 miles downwind of the leaking Fukushima nuclear plant. It is just outside the government’s mandatory exclusion zone, but the ground here was so contaminated during the crisis residents are now exposed to almost as much radiation as someone standing outside the plant’s west gate.

Namie has become a ghost town. The fields, normally a hive of activity in this season, are deserted. Roads are almost empty, apart from emergency vehicles and a police van that blocks the route into the 16 mile-radius exclusion zone.

Almost all of the 2,000 residents followed government advice to evacuate after the explosion at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant on 15 March, but Sanpei and her husband were among a few dozen farmers who returned, more concerned for their cattle than their personal safety.

“I could hear the cows in my ears mooing. I couldn’t sleep. I was so worried,” says Sanpei as one of the herd licks her arm. “We came back after a week. Even though the radiation was frightening, when we saw the cows again we had peace of mind.”

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May 11, 2011 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Kou trees stolen from Big Island high school

A Big Island high school is stumped by the disappearance of five large trees, which police are investigating as a felony theft.

Five 20-year-old kou trees native to Hawaii have been stolen over the course of about a week, Waiakea High School principal Kelcy Koga said Wednesday.

When the first tree was taken early last week, school officials found it odd but when three more were taken later in the week, they called police. The fifth tree was discovered missing Tuesday morning.

“It’s really unfortunate that people would resort to taking from the school,” Koga said.

Koga has since learned that the wood is expensive, used to make items such as bowls, bracelets and canoe paddles. Hawaii police estimate the trees to be worth a total of about $4,500.

Before the thefts, “they were just trees on campus that our custodians took care of,” he said.

The school’s athletic director who does woodworking as a hobby told Koga about the trees’ value. “He’s definitely not a suspect,” Koga said with a laugh.

The Hilo school sits on more than 40 acres and four of the trees were taken near the student parking area, which is away from the main road.

Koga said he believes that 10- to 15-feet tall trees were taken during the night and were likely cut down with a hand saw that didn’t make too much noise.

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May 10, 2011 Organic Ag, Vegtables Post a Comment

Local Lettuce with Certified Food Safety labeling?

Contributed by Alan Rudo

I’ve lost my confidence in buying local lettuce after purchasing a head of Romaine with a slug inside from a vendor at Pahoa’s Farmer’s Market this past Sunday. What really makes me angry was the labeling, which read, “Hamakua Springs:Certified Food Safety.” It wasn’t until, I went to wash the lettuce, that I discovered the slug inside the plastic wrapping. I am disgusted to think that I stored this deadly slug inside my refrigerator for even a few hours. Thankfully, I discovered the slug before anyone consumed the lettuce. I contacted the grower Hamakua Springs and told them how upset and disappointed I naturally am because rat-lung disease kills people. Their reply was more pathetic than I imagined, “We go to a lot of trouble trying to address the rat lungworm issue. I went to the community meeting at Kalapana Sea View Estate, about rat lungworm disease, in early 2009. We take this issue very seriously.” This was followed with an explanation on the rat-lung cycle and oh, yeah, “we’re sorry.” Here I’m trying to buy local, support the farmers and I get lettuce labeled, “Certified Food Safety,” which might have killed someone. Where is the oversight? Where are the inspectors? Why are they able to call their product “Certified Food Safety?

May 9, 2011 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Tuberose has abundance of dazzling fragrance

Since yesterday was Mother’s Day, and last week my mother’s birthday, this article is for Mom, who passed away at home earlier this year.

I kept her bedroom, where she spent the majority of her time, always brimming with assorted orchids, for their dazzling longevity, and tuberose, for their celestial fragrance.

One day I purchased tuberose from a florist friend, who ended up generously giving me the entire bucket. I arranged several stalks for my mom’s bedroom and the remaining ones for her adjoining bathroom. That night, about 2 in the morning, I could hear stirring from her bedroom. Because she suffered previous falls, I bolted to her. With her diminished mobility, she was trying to secretly relocate the tuberose to the living room because its overwhelming scent had saturated her bedroom.

I totally underestimated the immense perfume they would generate that first night. My mother was embarrassed because she didn’t want to hurt my feelings by removing the tuberose. I was relieved and amused.

Tuberose (Polianthes tuberosa) is kupaloke in Hawaiian. The Greek words “polios” and “anthos” mean “many flowers.” The Latin derivative of tuberosa means “swollen” or “tuberous,” for the roots or tubers. It’s a member of the family Agavaceae.

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