The bees and the trees (and tomatoes, cucumbers, melons, mac nuts…)
Special to Hawaii247 by Andrea Dean/Volcano Island Honey
Do you know that one-third of all the food you eat is pollinated by bees?
The decimation of bee colonies is a threat to food production in Hawaii. In Hawaii we do not have the disappearance of bees (Colony Collapse Disorder or CCD), but we now have the devastating and aptly named varroa destructor, commonly known as the varroa mite.
The varroa mite is a parasite that attacks honey bee adults, larvae, and pupae. The varroa mite has been know to destroy up to 90 percent of wild hives and beekeepers can easily lose all or a majority of their managed hives.
Until recently, Hawaii and Australia were the only remaining varroa free places in the world. The varroa mite was found on Oahu in 2007, unfortunately this did not result in quick and aggressive action by the private or government sector. As a result, the mite has now been found in hives on the Big Island.
Calavo Growers to Present at Canaccord Adams ‘Healthy Living’ Investment Conference – Yahoo! Finance
Updated Investor Presentation Posted on Company Web Site
- Press Release
- Source: Calavo Growers, Inc.
- [Calavo_investor_presentation]
SANTA PAULA, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Calavo Growers, Inc. (Nasdaq:CVGW-News), a global leader in avocado marketing and an expanding provider of other fresh perishable produce items, today announced that will be among 24 presenting companies at the Canaccord Adams Healthy Living Investment Conference on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2009, in Boston. Michael Lippold, Director of Strategic Development, will make a company presentation.
The company also disclosed that an updated investor presentation was posted on its web site, which will be used at the Canaccord and other impending financial community meetings. The presentation is available at www.calavo.com under the "Investor Relations" section.[Calavo_investor_presentation]
About Calavo Growers, Inc.
Calavo Growers, Inc. is the worldwide leader in the procurement and marketing of fresh avocados and other perishable foods, as well as the manufacturing and distribution of processed avocado products. Founded in 1924, Calavo’s expertise in marketing and distributing avocados, processed avocados, and other perishable products enables it to serve food distributors, produce wholesalers, supermarkets and restaurants on a global basis.
Calavo says 3Q profit jumps on higher sales – Yahoo! Finance
SANTA PAULA, Calif. (AP) — Avocado distributor Calavo Growers Inc. said Thursday its third-quarter profit jumped 77 percent as sales rose by a double-digit percentage and gross margins improved.
The Santa Paula, Calif.-based company earned $2.5 million, or 17 cents per share, in the three months that ended July 31, up from $1.4 million, or 10 cents per share, a year earlier.
Revenue rose 10 percent to $106.3 million from $96.9 million.
Calavo said its total gross margin as a percentage of net sales rose to 9.3 percent from 7.9 percent a year ago.
Its shares rose 83 cents, or 4.8 percent, to $18.02 in morning trading Thursday.
Calavo says 3Q profit jumps on higher sales – Yahoo! Finance
Fruit Fly Quarantine Near to Area ChinoHills.com
The Oriental Fruit Fly
The adult Oriental fruit fly is somewhat larger than a housefly, about 8 mm in length. The body color is variable but generally bright yellow with a dark "T" shaped marking on the abdomen. The wings are clear. The female has a pointed slender ovipositor to deposit eggs under the skin of host fruit. Eggs are minute cylinders laid in batches. The maggots (larvae) are creamy-white, legless, and may attain a length of 10 mm inside host fruit.
The Oriental fruit fly has been established in Hawaii since 1946 where it is a major pest of agriculture, particularly on mangoes, avocados and papayas. Maggots have been found in over 125 kinds of fruit and vegetables in Hawaii alone. A great number of crops in California are threatened by the introduction of this pest, including pears, plums, cherries, peaches, apricots, figs, citrus, tomatoes and avocados. It has been estimated that the cost of not eradicating Oriental fruit fly in California would range from $44 to $176 million in crop losses, additional pesticide use, and quarantine requirements.
Females lay eggs in groups of three to 30 under the skin of host fruits; the female can lay more than 1,000 eggs in her lifetime. Maggots tunnel through the fruit feeding on the pulp, shed their skins twice, and emerge through exit holes in approximately 10 days.
The larvae drop from the fruit and burrow two three cm into the soil to pupate. In 10 to 12 days, adults emerge from these puparia. The newly emerged adult females need eight to 12 days to mature sexually prior to egg laying. Breeding is continuous, with several annual generations. Adults live 90 days on the average and feed on honeydew, decaying fruit, plant nectar, bird dung and other substances. The adult is a strong flyer, recorded to travel 30 miles in search of food and sites to lay eggs. This ability allows the fly to infest new areas very quickly.
In excess of 230 fruits and vegetables have been attacked. Fruit that has been attacked may be unfit to eat as larvae tunnel through the flesh as they feed. Decay organisms enter, leaving the interior of the fruit a rotten mass.
Hana Highway Fruit Market
Creative entrepreneurial efforts deliver Maui Agricultural products directly into the hands of the neighborhood community and also tourists traveling to Hana. In addition to traditional items such as Maui Gold Pineapple, banana, and avocado the Hana Highway Fruit Market provides exotic fare such as loquat and lychee.
Hawaii Avocado Report.
Here is the PDF file for the Hawaii Avocado Report.
Click for complete Avocado Report
Please visit the website for more information: http://www.nass.usda.gov/hi/
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Contact Information:
Mark E. Hudson, Director
USDA NASS Hawaii Field Office
1421 South King Street
Honolulu, HI 96814-2512
Office: (808) 973-9588 / (800) 804-9514
Fax: (808) 973-2909
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Hawaii avocado production declines 14 percent
Avocado growers noted that uneven rains and the overall dry weather were major factors for the lowering yields during the 2008/09 season.
Farm price reaches record high
Hawaii avocado growers received an average a record high 73.0 cents per pound for the 2008 harvest, 7 percent higher than the previous season’s average farm price of 68.0 cents per pound.
California’s harvest lowest since 1979/80 season
California, which produces almost 78 percent of the U.S. total, suffered its lowest avocado harvest in 29 seasons (see next page). California’s 2008/09 harvest was hurt by record high heat last June which damaged the fruit that was beginning to mature on trees. Average farm prices, however, rose to a sixseason high of $2,000 per ton.