Category: CTAHR

August 4, 2021 CTAHR, General Ag News and Notes, Webinar Post a Comment

Agri-Business Workshops for Farmers

Molokai Dispatch
UHCTAHR Molokai Extension News Release

Whether you are an experienced farmer, an up and coming market gardener, or find yourself anywhere in between, then this is the workshop series for you! There will be four free workshops offered throughout August and September that will focus on the business side of agriculture and farming. The workshops will be offered both in person and have a Zoom component for those who are unable to meet in person.

The first workshop will be held Thursday, Aug. 12 from 3 to 5 p.m. at the UH Molokai Applied Research and Demonstration Farm Classroom (next to Kumu Farms). This workshop will focus on Farm Record Keeping and will be a blend of instruction and a Q & A session with a panel made up of Molokai farmers. There are 10 in-person seats available and an unlimited number of spaces available to join by Zoom. The in-person seats will be filled in the order the online registrations are received. To register, please visit sustainablemolokai.org. Should you have any questions, please email Jamie Ronzello at jamie@sustainablemolokai.org.

Other workshops in the series include Marketing on Aug. 26, Post-Harvest Handling (field demonstration) on Sept. 2, and Resources/Funding on Sept. 9. Please make plans to join us for one or all of the series.

The Agri-Business Summer Series is offered to you through a partnership between Sustainable Molokai, GoFarm Hawaii, and UH CTAHR Molokai Cooperative Extension. Funding is provided by USDA’s Office of Partnerships and Public Engagement. The series is open to everyone without regard to race, age, sex, color or disability. Educational activities are accessible for individuals with disabilities. For more information or to request an auxiliary aid or service (e.g., sign language interpreter, designated parking, or material in alternative format), contact Jennifer at the Molokai Extension Office at (808) 567-6934 or via email at jhawk@hawaii.edu seven days before the activity/event.

July 27, 2021 Agricultural Science, Agriculture Grants, CTAHR, Sweet Potato Post a Comment

Sweet potato protection! CTAHR team joins nationwide effort

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

CTAHR will use a new grant to study ‘Okinawan’ sweet potato

When a virus or virus-like agent infects a vegetatively propagated crop, the negative consequences can go far beyond a disappointing yield, appearance, taste and plant longevity. If the difficult-to-find disease goes undetected inside the propagation material, the problem could be passed on to a new farm, establish itself, and spread even further.

With a new grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, a group of University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR) extension agents and researchers on Oʻahu, Kauaʻi, Maui and the Big Island have joined a national network’s sweet potato research group.

Since 2008, the National Clean Plant Network has brought together growers, scientists and government agencies with the shared goal of safeguarding clean plants and ensuring a sustainable source of disease-free, vegetative propagation materials (such as cuttings, slips, scionwood, etc.).

For their first project, Amjad Ahmad, Rosemary Gutierrez, Roshan Manandhar, Susan Miyasaka, Sharon Motomura-Wages and Jensen Uyeda, along with Jon Suzuki from the USDA’s Daniel K. Inouye U.S. Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center in Hilo, will focus on ‘Okinawan’ sweet potato, the purple-fleshed variety that is a primary commercial cultivar in Hawaiʻi.

“During the first year, we hope to produce a total of 100 virus-tested ‘Okinawan’ plantlets in the tissue-culture laboratory of the Komohana Research and Extension Center, then distribute to extension agents across the state,” Miyasaka says.

The plan calls for the extension agents to multiply the clean material to produce 500 cuttings, and distribute them to growers. The agents will use either pot or hydroponic cultures under conditions that will minimize any re-introduction of disease, while Suzuki will test for major sweet potato viruses in order to ensure that the propagating materials are clean. If all goes well, by the second year of funding, the agents will be able to ramp up production to distribute 2,500 clean cuttings to growers.

July 23, 2021 Agricultural Science, CEU, CTAHR, Edible Crops, General Ag News and Notes, Onions, Plant Pests and Diseases, Vegtables, Webinar Post a Comment

Pesticide Rotation on Onion Thrips and Onion Variety Trial in Bulb and Green Onion Crops Webinar

This free webinar is open to all growers in Hawaii

The webinar discussion will cover:

  • Pesticide rotations to control onion thrips: yield and pest pressure
  • Variety trials of green and bulb onions
When: Wednesday, July 27th, 2021, from 4:00 to 5:30 PM
Zoom information will be sent to registrants
Registration is required: RSVP to Rosemary by emailing to gr6@hawaii.edu

Speakers:

  • Rosemary Gutierrez-Coarite
  • Joshua Silva
  • Kylie Tavares

HDOA Continuing Education Credits:

  • CEUs 1.5 hours
  • Approved categories: Commercial 1a, 9, 10, and Private 1

DOWNLOAD the Webinar Flyer

Open to everyone without regard to race, age, sex, color, or disability. Educational activities are accessible for individuals with disabilities. For more information or to request an auxiliary aid or service (e.g., sign language interpreter, designated parking, or material in alternative format), contact Rosemary Gutierrez-Coarite at (808) 244-3242 or via email at gr6@hawaii.edu seven days before the activity/event.

Rosemary Gutierrez-Coarite Ph.D.
Assistant Extension Agent, Edible Crops
Department of Tropical Plant and Soil Science
UH CTAHR Maui Cooperative Extension Service
310 Kaahumanu Ave., Bldg. 214 Kahului, HI 96732
808-244-3242 ext. 232
gr6@hawaii.edu
" No task is too big when done together by all"

July 15, 2021 CTAHR, Edible Crops, General Ag News and Notes, Sweet Potato, Vegtables Post a Comment

Sweetpotato Varietal Trial Field Day Enormous Success

For this trial 12 varieties of Sweetpotato were measured for the Marketable Yield and Weevil damaged per variety.

The participants of the Field Day provided information on each varieties appearance, taste, and texture - yes, each participant was provided with cooked samples of each variety!

This Trial was to help growers make decisions to determine which variety of sweetpotato to invest their efforts in for the various markets.

The sweeter varieties were more marketable for various reasons but were prone to insect damage.

Dr. Rosemary Gutierrez-Coarite Ph.D. surveys the rows of sweetpotato grown for the Varietal Trial.
Ernest Rezents, Professor Emeritus Maui College and former head of the MCC Agriculture Department, looks for Rough Weevil damage as the typical damage done by Sweetpotato Weevil is displayed by Dr. Gutierrez-Coarite.
July 9, 2021 CTAHR, Edible Crops, General Ag News and Notes, Sweet Potato Post a Comment

Sweetpotato Varietal Trial Field Day

This field day is open to all growers in Maui and will cover:
Yield and pest damage of twelve sweetpotato varieties.

When: Wednesday, July 14th, 2021, from 3:00 to 4:00 PM
Where: Kula Agricultural Park, lot # 16. 757-797 Pulehu Rd, Kula
(Face masks and social distancing during the event are required)
Registration is required: RSVP to Rosemary by emailing to gr6@hawaii.edu

DOWNLOAD the Field Day Flyer

Open to everyone without regard to race, age, sex, color, or disability. Educational activities are accessible for individuals with disabilities. For more information or to request an auxiliary aid or service (e.g., sign language interpreter, designated parking, or material in alternative format), contact Rosemary Gutierrez-Coarite at (808) 244-3242 or via email at gr6@hawaii.edu seven days before the activity/event.

Rosemary Gutierrez-Coarite Ph.D.
Assistant Extension Agent, Edible Crops
Department of Tropical Plant and Soil Science
UH CTAHR Maui Cooperative Extension Service
310 Kaahumanu Ave., Bldg. 214 Kahului, HI 96732
808-244-3242 ext. 232
gr6@hawaii.edu
" No task is too big when done together by all"

December 18, 2020 beekeeping, Coffee Leaf Rust, CTAHR, Gardening, General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

CTAHR Mid-December 2020 Events & Announcements

View Completer CTAHR Newsletter in your Browser

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UH CTAHR Cooperative Extension Offices will be closed on the following day:
Friday, December 25th, in observance of Christmas
Friday, January 1st, in observance of New Year’s day

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TODAY! 12/18 @ 2:30 pm – Maintaining Soil Health While Treating for Coffee Leaf Rust
From: Joan Obra
Vice President: United Ka’u Farmers Cooperative
Partner: Rusty’s Hawaiian and Isla Custom Coffees

RE: Zoom Meeting on Soil Health
Date and Time: Friday, Dec. 18, 2020, at 2:30 pm.

Since the arrival of Coffee Leaf Rust (CLR) in Hawaii, farmers have been told that maintaining healthy trees is key to fighting this pest. But tree health depends on soil health — and the copper-based fungicides for CLR pose certain challenges to our soils.

What’s a farmer to do? Join us for this Zoom webinar to discover good-management practices for copper fungicide use. You’ll hear a review of scientific literature about these fungicides and their residual effects. And you’ll learn about SOLVITA soil-respiration test kits, a tool that measures chemical and biological soil parameters. Your instructor is Dr. Melanie Willich, The Kohala Center’s Director of Applied ʻĀina-Based Agriculture.

Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUsdeGtpjksHdfoVQpeR4ZEmnxOVcxCPHr0

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Thank you,
Joan

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Dr. DeFrank’s Air Layer Workshop Recording
Dr. DeFrank provided the Waimanalo Farm Crew with a hands-on air layer workshop on 12/10/20 and has provided a URL link below to 2 videos (classroom and hands-on training) and pdf of slides that details this air layer method and includes sources for various materials used. The mango and guava at the Waimanalo Station were at the perfect stage for air layering and the same may be true for your locations. He has been successful with mango, guava, cacao, longan and native Koa root suckers.

Air layer hands-on workshop at Waimanalo on 12/10/20:
https://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/defrankj/NON_HOMEPAGE_PAGES/Air_layer_UH_Farm_121121020.htm

Dr. Joe DeFrank
Ph: 808-225-1765
email: defrenk@hawaii.edu

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Kau Coffee Virtual Festival and Coffee College Webinars
Visit https://www.kaucoffeefestival.com for all festival activities. These events will take place the weeks of Dec. 21 and Dec. 28.

The Coffee College presentations are being organized and additional information will be available at the link above.

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Intro to Beekeeping Virtual Workshop – Saturday, January 16th, 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Interested in learning about beekeeping or know of someone that might but does not know where to start? NOW is the time of year to begin planning and becoming prepared looking forward to the upcoming beekeeping season! The California Master Beekeeper Program (CAMBp) OC Bee Team will be offering VIRTUAL Beekeeping Classes throughout 2021.

The first of the series of SEVEN knowledge building science-based beekeeping classes, presented by the California Master Beekeeper Program OC Bee Team, is Beekeeping 001 Exploring Beekeeping beginning on January 16th. Follow the CAMBp website cambp.ucdavis.edu as new classes in this series will be listed.

BONUS: a 10% discount will be applied to individuals who sign up for the entire series!

Register: for this class https://registration.ucdavis.edu/Item/Details/694

More information at: https://cambp.ucdavis.edu/

Questions? Email: camasterbee@gmail.com

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ADSC Holiday Schedule
Aloha,

The Agricultural Diagnostic Service Center will be operating with a skeleton crew from Monday, December 21st through Thursday, December 31st. Analysis results that are normally available within 7-10 working days will be slightly delayed. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Happy Holidays from the Agricultural Diagnostic Service Center!

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Coffee Samples for UH ADSC Submission
Per Hawaii County Administrator, Susan Miyasaka, NO coffee plant samples NOR soil from coffee farms will be shipped to UH Manoa ADSC [for diagnostics] – there is an inter-island quarantine.

Please contact UH Hilo to submit coffee leaf and soil samples.
https://hilo.hawaii.edu/analab/

For nematode, disease and insect IDs from coffee farms, and other questions or concerns, please contact Susan at (808)969-8258 or miyasaka@hawaii.edu.

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Mahalo – 1215 Virtual Invasive Pest Mini-Conference
Aloha,

Thank you for attending 1215 Virtual Invasive Pest Mini-Conference 2020. It’s my pleasure to have you all in this meeting with some valuable talks on current invasive pest concerns, rapid responses and management efforts, and status updates/ new detections. Special thanks to the speakers – Teya Penniman, JB Friday, Kaili Kosaka, Koki Atcheson, Jane Anderson, Nate Dube, and Kevin Hoffman.

Here is the link to the mini-conference video https://vimeo.com/491793219/c913595d6b just in case if you have missed this meeting. A chat note is also attached.

Announcement – Save a date for 02182021 Virtual Invasive Pest Mini-Conference on Feb 18 (Thursday), 2021. Please let me know if you are interested to give a talk in the 0218 Mini-Conference.

Wishing you a wonderful New Year!!

Sincerely,

Roshan