Issue 53   |   August 29, 2016   |   Archive   |   Subscribe

News & Events

Positively Negi

A field day focusing on “Preliminary Observations of ‘Negi’ Green Onion Varieties for Long White Stems’ will be held on Friday, September 9, from 10:00 a.m. to noon at the Poamoho Research Station in Waialua. Green onion (Allium fistulosum) is typically grown in Hawaii for its long dark green leaves and used as a garnish for many dishes. In Japan, green onion instead is grown for its long white stems and is called “negi.” The white stems are used as a garnish as well but are also used to make soup bases and can be pickled. The average stem length for this type of onion can range from 12 to 24 inches. This trial looks to evaluate 20 commercially available green onion varieties for their potential commercial production as “negi”-type green onions. This field day will provide growers with on-farm observation of each variety’s growth characteristics and allow them to learn about management practices. For more information, or to request an auxiliary aid or service (e.g., sign language interpreter, designated parking, or material in alternative format), contact Jensen Uyeda at 622-4185 or via email at juyeda@hawaii.edu by September 2.

Clean Ginger

Mike Melzer (PEPS) will be the featured speaker at the East Oahu County Farm Bureau General Membership Meeting on Tuesday, September 6, at the Kane‘ohe Extension Office at 45-260 Waikalua Road in Kane‘ohe. Mike will speak at 6:00 p.m.; the general meeting runs from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Mike, an assistant researcher in agrosecurity, will talk about managing two plant viruses in ornamental ginger, Banana Bract Mosaic Virus (BBrMV) and Canna Yellow Mosaic Virus, that are widespread on the windward side of O‘ahu. He will also discuss his work on establishing clean planting materials for crops such as citrus, taro, and sweet potato. Nonmembers and guests are welcome to both the talk and the meeting, and all active East County members are encouraged to attend. Refreshments will be provided, but potluck contributions are also welcome!

Indigenous Cropping Systems for Everyone!

A Special Topics Seminar Series in Indigenous Cropping Systems will be held on Wednesdays from noon to 1:15 p.m. in Webster Hall 102. This is a weekly seminar of guest presenters covering a range of topics relevant to Hawaiian and other traditional cropping systems. The seminar will focus on traditional management of agricultural systems and will include speakers on soil science and biogeochemical cycling, ethnography and cultural values regarding agriculture, agricultural economies and their relationship to political complexity, and more. This will be an informal, discussion-based seminar that will include student, faculty, farmers, and professional speakers. You can take the seminar for credit—it’s TPSS 491, CRN 79068—but you’re also welcome to just drop in on any of the sessions that sound appealing.

Grants & Awards

Dealing With the Pigs

Melissa Price (NREM assistant professor) and Jeremy Ringma (NREM postdoctoral fellow) recently received funding from the DLNR’s Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) to identify optimal management strategies for feral pigs for conservation and recreational hunting purposes on O’ahu. Feral pigs are managed by DOFAW both as game animals for hunters and as invasive species that cause damage to watersheds and promote the spread of invasive plants and disease. Melissa and Jeremy will use a structured decision-making process to minimize conflict between competing hunter and conservation goals. They are currently deploying motion-activated cameras at more than 40 sites throughout O’ahu to map pig abundance and quantify disturbance in different habitat types.

Spotlight on Our Community

Geek Beat Loves Landscape MD

The new landscape and garden pest app for iPhone developed by Scot Nelson (TPSS), Arnold Hara (PEPS Emeritus), and Ruth Niino-Duponte (PEPS) is featured in Hawaii News Now’s Geek Beat, where it’s already proven to be very helpful—it allowed Burt Lum to diagnose sooty mold caused by aphids’ honeydew on his gardenias, and explained how to solve the problem. Got a garden problem? Get Landscape MD today—it’s useful, and it’s free!

Bringing Back the Butterflies

Will Haines (PEPS) is now managing a new insectary for the DLNR, along with PEPS MS alumna Cynthia King. KHON posted a video describing the agency’s plan to rear the rapidly dwindling native Kamehameha butterfly, or pulelehua, and attempt to reintroduce it into the wild. Once the facility is running, Will and Cynthia will be working with the community and landowners to plant the pulelehua’s preferred plant, mamaki, and then reintroduce the butterfly to restored sites, with the goal of bringing it back to some of the residential areas that were identified as suitable habitat in Will and Dan Rubinoff’s (PEPS) pulelehua mapping project. The initiative is also discussed on Hawaii News Now’s Geek Beat. Will explains that his work on the butterfly also encompasses studying the factors contributing to its decline in the field, including mentoring MS student Colby Maeda in his research on the impact of predators and parasitoids on the eggs and caterpillars.

Horticulturists Unite!

TPSS was well represented at the 113th Annual Conference of the American Society for Horticultural Science in Atlanta, Georgia earlier this month. Faculty presenters Tessie Amore, Kent Kobayashi, Ken Leonhardt (l.), and Susan Miyasaka (3rd r.) made eleven oral and poster presentations, including four invited presentations in two orchid workshops. Grad students Russell Galanti (r.), Kauahi Perez (2nd l.), and Tia Silvasy (2nd r.) also made four oral and poster presentations, while Aleca Borsuk, a NASA Hawaii Space Grant Consortium Fellow working with Kent, presented a poster. Tia presented her Master’s research in a single slide for the Scholars Ignite competition for graduate students. Also attending the conference were Professor Emeritus Richard Criley (3rd l.) and Dr. Nguyen, a visiting Borlaug Scholar from Vietnam working with Jonathan Deenik. Hawai‘i attendees participated in the ASHS Career and Graduate School Fair, answering questions, passing out TPSS and CTAHR flyers, and sharing Hawai‘i goodies provided by various agencies.

The Science of Aloha (Shirts)

Tropical Students Unite!

Grad students in Tropical Plant Pathology recently hosted four visiting graduate students from the University of Florida, Gainesville, for a mutual sharing of their research projects. The visiting students enjoyed their visit to the Manoa campus as well as lunch with the CTAHR students and several faculty. There’s a distinct Florida-CTAHR connection: besides former Dean Gallo’s employment there, several of CTAHR’s Tropical Plant Pathology graduates are now faculty at the Universit of Florida, including David Norman and Mathews Paret, and another, Kishore Day, works in Gainesville at the Florida Department of Plant Industries.

Job Opportunities

Get Extended!

CTAHR is advertising four permanent, tenure-track junior or assistant Extension agent positions. They were funded from the Hawaii State Legislature via passage of the UH Manoa Budget request this past session, so a big mahalo goes to our UH officials and our legislators for their support! There is a position on Kaua‘i in invasive species with emphasis on insects and diseases in support of edible crop and ornamental industries; on O‘ahu in farm food safety and sustainable agriculture in support of edible crop industries; on Maui in farm food safety and sustainable agriculture in support of edible crop industries; and on the Big Island in sustainable agriculture in support of edible crop industries; this individual will also coordinate the East Hawaii Master Gardener program.

If you would like to modify or end your subscription to CTAHR Alumni & Friends, please click here.