Friday, June 22, 2012

Understanding the educational needs of Waianae's basil growers

What a great day in Waianae! 
Spent the day meeting and talking with basil growers. Learned about major pest issues as well as other challenges in growing basil for local and export markets. Special thank you to Katsu Kobashigawa for introducing us to growers in Waianae, Ming Yi Chou, CTAHR PHD candidate for helping us communicate effectively with Chinese speaking farmers, Jensen Uyeda of the CTAR Sustainable and Organic Agriculture Program for documenting growers' major pest issues and Steve Fukuda, LIFE Farm Doctor for assembling this field based team to address growers' crop production concerns in a timely manner.  

http://youtu.be/jpolNDXLr4Y

Based on our farm visit, LIFE will work to create information flyers on the major economic pests for commercial operations. Dr. Janice Uchida, CTAHR pathologist, confirmed the presence of Downy Mildew in Waianae despite high summer temperatures. Growers are also concerned about pest such as beetles, scales, mealybugs, leaf miners, tomato spotted wilt, etc. this summer. LIFE's fam doctors will work with growers one on one to ensure they are knowledgeable about the various pest in basil and appropriate control strategies. 

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