Seekers of grants and CTAHR’s researchers are familiar with the National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA), one of the four agencies comprising the USDA’s Department of Research, Education, and Economics (REE). The College was recently honored by a visit from what may have been the highest-level USDA official ever to grace our halls: Dr. Catherine Woteki, Chief Scientist and Under Secretary    ... more >>

Crinch, crinch...pitter, patter.... What’s that? It just might be the sound of your house being eaten by termites. You probably know that Hawai‘i’s warm climate and predominance of wooden construction make it a tasty haven for these woodchewers, and that controlling them requires constant vigilance and occasional clouds of striped tenting. You might even know the name of the most common and    ... more >>

When Douglas Vincent, the chair of the Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Sciences department, first lobbied in 2007 for funds for a student group that wanted to dig up UH-Manoa’s carefully landscaped grounds and plant beans, people might have thought he’d gone soft. But really, he’d just gone SOFT. That’s the Student Organic Farm Training group, advised by Ted Radovich and other CTAHR    ... more >>

“Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family: whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one.”
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Fancy a cuppa tea, luv? The ubiquitous brew has moved far beyond its Asian roots and its obsessive allure for the Brits. In fact, tea (Camellia sinensis) is the most widely consumed beverage in the world, after water. Very little tea is grown in the U.S.—one place it does grow, though, is Hawai‘i. A recent report on the nascent tea industry in the Islands, presented to community stakeholders,    ... more >>

A discipline that investigates the thin but important line between what helps and what harms is food microbiology. It looks both at the ways microorganisms are used to create the foods we love (think beer, kim chee, shoyu, bread, and yogurt) and the ways they can contaminate foods, like the pathogens Salmonella and E. coli. With the many outbreaks of food-borne illness lately, this issue is a growing concern.    ... more >>

Ding-dong! Please sign here for your package of plant pathogens. With all the ag inspection protocols at the airport, it’s surprising to think of deliberately sending pathogenic material in and out of Hawai‘i. But researchers wanting to identify unknown strains of bacterial plant pathogens have had to do just that—until now. Plant-associated bacterial pathogens cause billions of dollars in    ... more >>

Could you grow a papala? A pipicha? A bitter ball? Maybe not, but you might be able to find one in your local farmers market, thanks to a growing population of immigrant farmers bringing the techniques and products of their native lands to Hawai‘i. But while there’s much that these growers know, there are aspects of starting to farm in a different country, climate, and economy that can be confusing    ... more >>

Established 10 years ago by USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), AgDiscovery has grown into a nationwide program, held this year at 13 campuses throughout the nation. In June and July 2011, the University of Hawai‘i, represented by CTAHR, participated in the program for the first time. Ten exceptional students were selected from over 70 applicants to take part in a    ... more >>

In April 2007 the beekeeping community of Hawai‘i was appalled to discover that the varroa mite (Varroa destructor), a devastating honeybee parasite, was widespread on O‘ahu. A year later the mite invaded the Big Island. In February 2011, however, research conducted by CTAHR’s Honeybee Project helped bring good news to the local beekeepers and farmers: A new formic acid-based    ... more >>

All rivers flow to the sea, they say, but what flows into the rivers? When it rains, fertile top soil is lost, and everything from sediment to fertilizers and pesticides to soil pathogens get washed in. Then the streams silt up; pesticides and suspended sediments threaten stream micro-organisms and aquatic life. These negative impacts could extend into the receiving ocean. To stop or at least minimize    ... more >>

The Didactic Program in Dietetics is not one of CTAHR’s more commonly known academic programs. Yet for over 20 years, Anne Shovic has directed this rigorous accredited program, preparing UH students to become Registered Dietitians (RD). Students earn baccalaureate degrees in Food Science and Human Nutrition, through the Department of Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Sciences (HNFAS). Dietitians    ... more >>