Location: Tropical Crop and Commodity Protection Research
Project Number: 2040-22430-026-010-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Sep 22, 2014
End Date: Sep 14, 2019
Objective:
1. Develop economical and environmentally friendly pest and disease management strategies for Hawaii’s economically important and potentially important specialty crops.
2. Employ traditional breeding and genetic techniques to develop value-added and insect, disease and drought resistant horticultural cultivars.
3. Develop methods to quantify and manage soil quality, and availability and distribution of nutrients and water in order to enhance crop production and quality.
4. Quantify and address the impacts of climate change on selected specialty crops, particularly with respect to water availability, soil quality, and pest and disease management.
5. Develop new specialty crops, products, and co-products, and promote use of under-utilized specialty crops in order to enhance the economic viability of Hawaii’s agricultural sector.
Approach:
The approach to this project is to address the development of economical and environmentally friendly pest and disease management strategies for Hawaii’s economically important and potentially important crops; to enhance and improve cultivation practices, including soil quality, drought resistance, fertilization, and post-harvest handling and food safety. Utilize traditional breeding and genetic techniques to develop value-added and insect, disease and drought resistant horticultural cultivars. Develop environmentally and economically acceptable pre-harvest and post-harvest disease and insect management systems for Hawaii’s crops. Improve crop production and quality by developing techniques to manage soil quality, and availability and distribution of nutrients and water, particularly with respect to mitigation of the effects of climate change. Develop strategies for import replacement, and cultivation and enhanced utilization of under-utilized crops (e.g., breadfruit), new crops such as tea, and development of co-products to minimize crop waste and improve the economic viability of Hawaii’s farms.
