From the Backyard to the World
It’s
the tree with numerous names and even more uses: Moringa oleifera,
also known as kalamungay, malunggai, drumstick tree, ben oil tree, or
horseradish tree.
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Pineapple in Paradise
The
last of the state’s pineapple canneries closed in 2007. But the reasons for Big
Pine’s decline were economic, not agricultural; the Islands’ soils and climate
are ideal for the fruit.
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Bread(fruit), the Staff of Life
The
time for breadfruit is now,” says Noa Lincoln of the Department of Tropical Plant
and Soil Sciences. The Islands are heading for an ‘ulu renaissance: at least
5,000 trees have been planted here in the last five to seven years. Soon they’ll
start fruiting, eventually producing 500 pounds of breadfruit per tree per
year, a total of 2.5 million pounds annually!
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We (Heart) Anthuriums
Though
the anthurium has become one of Hawai‘i’s most iconic flowers, it’s a relative newcomer.
The industry began in the Islands in the 1940s; in 1950, researcher Haruyuki
Kamemoto initiated anthurium research at what would become CTAHR with a
breeding program for the commercial development and release of cultivars to
growers.
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Bee Local
A little-known fact is that one of Hawai‘i’s most lucrative
agricultural exports is queen bees.
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A Pearl of Hawai‘i Aquaculture
After a hiatus of more than three decades, oysters are
starting to be grown commercially in Hawai‘i.
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Local Growers and the Law
Growers know it’s not just what you grow; it’s how you grow
it. Basil, especially the Thai and sweet varieties, is integral to much local
cooking.
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Pretty Peachy
Peaches aren’t a new crop in Hawai‘i…but good peaches just
might be. The tasty and popular fruit hasn’t previously done well in the
Islands.
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Digging for Answers
What’s in your ground? Representative areas for the various soil types have been generally established, and knowing them is an important first step.
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Where the Soils Are
You may never have heard of a mollisol or a dystric
inceptisol or be able to tell one from the other, but these and other soil
types are literally the basis of all life, in the Islands and beyond.
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Sustaining Soil, Sustaining Lives
What grows—or won’t grow—in the soil, and why, is at the
heart of natural resource and environmental management (NREM).
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Not Just Dirt
The humble soil’s status has undergone a dramatic shift in
recent years. Once it was considered little more than a physical matrix,
providing a place for roots to develop— the bulk of the plant’s needs were
thought to come from external applications of chemical fertilizer and water,
and its defenses from chemical pesticides.
However, yield declines after growing the same crops
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Add Value–Add Larvae
Most people are familiar with vermicomposting, using worms
to break down garden and kitchen waste and boost the fertilizer content of the
resulting compost.
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It’s All Fine for the Swine
The new foodie trend of “snout to tail” cooking utilizes all
parts of the pig for sustainability and waste reduction as well as gastronomic
pleasure.
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High Style, Low Waste
Dressmaking may not be high on most people’s list of waste-generating activities, but in fact, between 15 and 20 percent of each bolt of cloth ends up being discarded when garment pieces are cut out. Between that and clothing that’s worn and then discarded, the US throws away up to 21 billion pounds of textile waste a year!
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Greening Graywater
Schoolchildren learn about the natural water cycle: clouds,
rain, streams, ocean, evaporation. In the municipal water cycle, water from the
tap is used for drinking/ cooking, bathing, washing, and irrigation; the
resulting “graywater” runs to the sewer, is taken to a wastewater treatment
plant, and is purified to be used again.
It’s in the purification process that things
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