CTAHR Celebrates 100 Years with Open House

CTAHR in Hawaii County is celebrating its 100th birthday with an open house at the UH Mealani Experiment Station in Waimea. The free event is from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 26 at 64-289 Mamalahoa Highway.The public can attend talks and demonstrations and view educational displays on a diverse range of topics. Live specimens of invasive species such as stinging nettle caterpillar, little fire ant, cycad scale and coqui frogs will be on display with tips on identifying these pests and what you can do to prevent and control infestations.

The multistep process of making chocolate from Hawaii cocoa beans on a small scale will be demonstrated. Local vegetables and popular exotic tropical fruits that can be grown in Hawaii will be on display, including more unusual fruits like durian, mangosteen, jackfruit, jaboticaba, soursop and others.

A display on the statewide aquaculture extension program explains its activities on Hawaii Island. The program assists existing and potential new businesses with aquaculture production, as well as informing the public about the nature and workings of aquaculture in the community.

Genetic engineering is and how it is different from other types of plant breeding, and some of the benefits of and concerns about genetic engineering will be explained in another display. The Fruit Fly Pest Management display will help people identify the four species of fruit flies, provide information to the home gardener on how to manage these pests through sanitation, pheromone lures and baits and demonstrate how to make inexpensive traps to monitor and reduce fruit fly populations. Organic agriculture, taro varieties and the “Taste of the Hawaiian Range” food show will be showcased in other displays.

Bring your questions, and ailing plants, to the Plant Doctor who will be set up to diagnose plant problems. Free on-the-spot testing will be conducted to determine the pH level of soil and water samples.

Participants can take a short tour of the tea and blueberry research plots, and taste Mealani tea, grass-finished beef barbecue and fresh poi.

Talks and demonstrations start at 10:15 a.m. with “Grafting and Air Layering;” at 11 a.m. is “Separating Fact from Fiction about Genetically Engineered Foods” and “Soils of Hawaii;” at noon is “Basics of Growing Coffee;” and at 12:30 p.m. is “Tools to Improve Carcass Quality in the Beef Market Using A.I. and Ultrasound Technology.” A demonstration on hydroponically-grown lettuce and watercress using a noncirculating nutrient solution will be ongoing in the greenhouse during the open house.

For more information on the history of CTAHR and the UH centennial celebration, visit

 

http://www.hawaii.edu/centennial <http://www.hawaii.edu/centennial>

For additional information on the open house, contact the Cooperative Extension Service in Hilo at 981-5199.