IAL meeting creates more questions than answers
By Lois Ann Ell – Special to The Garden Island
Published: Wednesday, August 26, 2009 2:11 AM HST
KAPA‘A — What began as an informational meeting about the designation of important agricultural lands turned into a heated discussion about Kaua‘i’s agricultural future.
Dr. Karl Kim, a professor at the UH Department of Urban and Regional Planning, presented a slide show of the Koloa-Po‘ipu pilot agricultural lands study he and his colleagues conducted for the Land Use Commission. He was the guest speaker at the monthly Wailua-Kapa’a Neighborhood Association meeting Monday night at the Kapa’a Library.
World Tea News – Indulge Hawaii Releases RTD Tea With Stevia
Monday, 24 August 2009
by WTN staff
Honolulu-based Indulge Hawaii has unveiled a new RTD iced tea that is sweetened with stevia, a first according to the company.
Called Plantation Iced Tea No Sugar Added, the drink is described as "a blend of brewed tea, pineapple juice and tropical flavors," in a news release. Indulge Hawaii President Byron Goo said the tea used is an Indian black tea. He did not elaborate on the brewing process.
Touted as a low-calorie beverage with just 10 calories per serving, Plantation Iced Tea is sweetened with Good & Sweet Reb-A, which maker Blue California describes as a "natural sweetener purified from stevia leaves."
"It’s thrilling to say we’re an innovation company," Goo said. "Now, we’re first to make a bottled iced tea using a brand new all natural, zero calorie sweetener derived from stevia.” Goo told WTN that Blue California had confirmed the claim.
Indulge Hawaii is a food and beverage brand that focuses on Hawaiian ingredients. The company’s stated goal is to use natural and organic ingredients whenever possible, support sustainable agricultural practices and make its community a better place to live.
World Tea News – Indulge Hawaii Releases RTD Tea With Stevia
Hawaii and Related Agriculture Daily Charts for the week ending 08-21-09
The annual charts have been updated also. CLICK HERE to view.
Maui Land and Pineapple (MLP)
Calavo Growers (CVGW)
Alexander and Baldwin (ALEX)
iPath DJ AIG Sugar TR Sub-Idx ETN (SGG)
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.
HAWAII AQUACULTURE
Click for Larger Image
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 AQUACULTURE" reports are available on our website and also PRINTED annually. Subscriptions for PRINTED copies are free to those persons who report agricultural data to NASS (upon request) and available for $2 per year to all others.
Hawaii grown aquaculture reached a record $34.7 million in 2008, increasing 38 percent from 2007. Algae sales accounted for 45 percent of the value and amounted to $15.7 million. Finfish sales by weight valued at $7.0 million, comprised 20 percent of the total. The ornamental category was pegged at $3.3 million or 10 percent of the total. The ‘other’ category includes seed stock, brood stock, and other items counted by number, accounted for 24 percent or $8.3 million. Hawaii County continued to lead the State in aquaculture sales with $27.8 million or 80 percent of the total value. Sales from Honolulu, Kauai and Maui Counties accounted for the remaining 20 percent.
Animal Quarantine Information – Hawaii Department of Agriculture
ADVISORY (August 17, 2009) –
The State of Hawai’i is currently faced with a significant budgetary shortfall. While it is still uncertain how budget cuts may affectservices by the Hawai’i Department of Agriculture, you should be aware that if you are qualifying your pet for direct release at Honolulu International Airport and are currently making travel arrangements, it may be prudent to arrange to arrive in Honolulu during between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. This is especially important if you are planning to take a connecting flight to another island with your pet the same day.
Currently, some employees have received layoff notices. In addition, the possibility of furloughs exists. In the event layoffs or furloughs or both are implemented, it can result in a reduction of the current hours of inspection for airport release. Animals that arrive at the Airport Animal Quarantine Holding Facility after hours of inspection will be held overnight and processed the following morning.
We are providing this advisory as a precaution, because we realize that flight arrangements are usually made far in advance of travel. If the situation changes, we will update this webpage accordingly.
The airport office will continue to accept pets arriving from the airlines at Honolulu International Airport; however, we anticipate that inspection hours may be affected, which will result in delays in processing the inspection and release of pets at the airport.
Animal Quarantine Information — Hawaii Department of Agriculture