Almost 400 invasive plant species have set up home as weeds on some of the world’s most distant oceanic islands.
Hawaii has been particularly inundated by invasive weeds. For Hawaii alone, it is said that 10,000 non-native plant taxa have been introduced to the islands. A vast majority have been deliberately introduced and planted. Botanist Dr Christoph Kueffer
Clidemia herta Click for Larger imageAbout half now dominate their new habitat, and hundreds more species are expected to invade these once pristine islands in the coming years.
So says the most comprehensive survey to date of invasive plants on island archipelagos.
Worse, people are mainly to blame, having repeatedly introduced these weeds into their farms and gardens.
Non-native plants and animals can be extremely destructive.
But while it is undisputed that many invasive animals such as rats and cats pose a major threat to biodiversity, it is less clear what role invasive plants play in changing native habitats.
So botanist Dr Christoph Kueffer of the University of Hawaii in Honolulu and colleagues across Europe analysed how many species of invasive plants have become established on island archipelagos.
And so, it seems, is the reality of the state’s budget crisis, with The Advertiser reporting today that proposed layoffs in the Department of Agriculture could imperil food imports and exports.
On the import side, [Big Island Rep. Clifton] Tsuji said, he’s already heard from a major produce importer who warned that a dramatic slowdown in the time it takes to have items inspected could spell the end of the import of certain types of lettuce or other food products that perish easily. "If they don’t have the inspectors, they might have to cease importing these items," Tsuji said.
It’s a double-edged sword. If some stuff’s not coming in, it could increase demand for locally-grown veggies and so spur production. But if we don’t have enough inspectors, it harms exporters, who are a major force in Hawaii’s diversified ag sector. It also increases the risk of more pest species being introduced, which is a major concern for the native environment, farmers and our overall quality of life.
It raises, once again, the question of whether Hawaii is serious about ensuring that agriculture is part of its future.
That question will be front and center as Kauai goes through the process of identifying its Important Ag Lands. We’re the first county to do such a study, which is mandated by Act 233. Dr. Karl Kim of UH has been awarded the county contract, and he’ll be talking about the process at a meeting set for 6 to 8 p.m. Monday, Aug. 24 at the Kapaa Library.
I was talking to Farmer Jerry the other day, and he said the most important message that needs to be conveyed about the IAL process is “it’s not gonna be the third Mahele for the developers.”
“HAWAII SUGARCANE” reports are available on our website and also PRINTED monthly from August through December. 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.
U.S. SUGARCANE
Production of sugarcane for sugar and seed is forecast at 29.1 million tons, up 5 percent from last year. Expected production increases in Florida and Texas more than offset the expected decreases in Hawaii and Louisiana. Producers intend to harvest 862,700 acres for sugar and seed during the 2009 crop season, up 8,700 acres from the June Acreage report but down 5,300 acres from last year. Expected yield is forecast at 33.7 tons per acre, up 1.9 tons from 2008.
As Hawaii’s agricultural industry continues to decline, a sub-industry is growing in size and work force.
The state’s seed crop industry hit $146 million in value for the 2007-2008 season, surpassing pineapple and sugar, crops that were once Hawaii’s agricultural staples.
The seed crop industry’s value has grown at an average annual rate of 33 percent over the past five years. It makes up about 30 percent of the total value of all crops produced in Hawaii, according to the Hawaii Crop Improvement Association.
The trade group commissioned a study earlier this month to gauge the economic impact of Hawaii’s seed crop industry. The Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation performed the study using data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Sometimes you need a little help from a friend — even if that friend is also a competitor.
Monsanto (NYSE: MON) and Dow Chemical (NYSE: DOW) certainly couldn’t have developed a seed with such blockbuster potential so quickly without each others’ help. The two announced yesterday that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) had completed the authorization process for their SmartStax seed, which combines eight different traits into one corn seed.
The eight combined traits will increase yields by 2% to 4% compared to the triple-stacked standard, but the biggest advantage to farmers will come from changes by the government.
Farmers are required to plant a certain percent of their acreage with seeds that don’t have insect resistance — it’s called a refuge, but "sacrificial lamb" might be more appropriate. The point of the refuge is to avoid selecting for insects that are resistant to the trait. Since SmartStax contains multiple disease-resistant traits, it’s less likely that insects will become resistant, so farmers will be able to decrease the required refuge from 20% to 5% in the corn belt and from 50% to 20% in the cotton belt. Increasing the acreage planted with higher-yielding disease-resistant corn should boost the farm’s yield by an additional 3% to 6%, for a total potential increase of 5% to 10%.
Monsanto and Dow will market the seed under their own brand names and pay royalties to each other for the shared traits. The friendly competition should make for an interesting rivalry, but in any case the new seed, which should launch next year, should compete well against rivals Syngenta (NYSE: SYT) and DuPont (NYSE: DD). In fact, the companies are planning to make it the largest biotech corn seed launch ever.
Who knows — maybe they’ll send the first ears to Joe Cocker.
Hawaii has been particularly inundated by invasive weeds. For Hawaii alone, it is said that 10,000 non-native plant taxa have been introduced to the islands. A vast majority have been deliberately introduced and
