Zhiqiang Cheng (PEPS) and Norman Nagata (TPSS, Maui CES) organized the 2018 Maui Turfgrass and Landscape Pest Management Workshop at CTAHR Maui Extension Office, including updates on important turfgrass and golf course pests such as frit fly, take-all patch, mini ring, rover ant, coconut rhinoceros beetle, and lobate lac scale.

Civil Beat recently published an article about the workshops CTAHR and the island Invasive Species Councils have conducted on how eco-tour operators can avoid spreading Rapid ‘Ohi‘a Death (ROD) and other pathogens, weeds, and pests. The workshop leaders include Extension forester J.B. Friday and ROD educational specialist Corie Yanger (both NREM).

Ken Leonhardt, Ilima Ho-Lastimosa, and Ted Radovich (all TPSS) represented CTAHR’s holiday spirit in fine style at the 2018 Waimanalo Christmas Parade, featuring Ken’s 1924 Model T and a “certified-organic” tractor loaded with gifts and cheerful candy-tossers that reminded onlookers of how long CTAHR’s been making life better for the community.

The seminars for the O‘ahu County Sustainable and Organic Agriculture Extension agent position have been completed, so please evaluate the two candidates, Amjad Ahmad and Mitchell Loo. CVs and some video presentations for candidates for junior/assistant Extension agents in Agricultural Economics, Agricultural Finance, and Livestock are available as well.

The Women in Ag Learning Network will be holding a virtual conference featuring information, tips, and tools that ag educators and service providers can use to deliver more engaging and effective programs for beginning women farmers and ranchers. The conference will be held from January 29 to 31, from 7:00 to 11:00 a.m. each day Hawai‘i Time.

The college’s celebration of the centennial of Hawai‘i 4-H and the 90^th anniversary of Extension in the Islands is still going strong! If you missed the luncheon hailing these milestone events or want to relive the memories, check out the CE90 – 4-H100 website, which features a video of the event, a photo gallery, and images of all the posters shared in the educational displays.

Yvette Rodriguez Stern and Sarah Yuan (both COF) led the project team for the Center’s recently published 2018 Community Profile Series, created in collaboration with the YMCA of Honolulu. The team also included COF members Javzandulam Azuma and Kathleen Gauci. The profile series presents measures of quality of life and well-being for 11 communities on O‘ahu.

CTAHR’s Agricultural Diagnostic Service Center (ADSC) is looking for a manager! The ADSC provides analytical and diagnostic services to Hawai‘i’s agricultural community through soil testing, plant tissue analysis, feed and forage analysis, plant disease identification, and insect pest identification. It also runs the popular UH Seed Program.

All are invited to attend the interview presentations of the candidates for junior/assistant Extension agent for the edible crop industry on Maui, a position that will be based in TPSS. Each candidate will speak on the topic of “Expanding the Edible Crop Extension Program on Maui.” 

All are invited to attend the interview presentations of the candidates for junior/assistant Extension agent for sustainable and organic agriculture on O‘ahu, a position that will be based in TPSS. Each candidate will speak their “Vision and Approach to Expand the Sustainable and Organic Agriculture Program on O‘ahu.” 

All are invited to attend the interview presentations of the candidates for junior/assistant Extension agent for sustainable and organic agriculture on Kaua‘i, a position that will be based in TPSS. Each candidate will speak on their “Vision and Approach to Expand the Sustainable and Organic Agriculture Program on Kaua‘i.” 

There will be a statewide training for growers on the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA)’s Produce Safety Rule on Friday, December 14, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. in the UH Maui College’s Community Service Building #205. This training. especially timely in light of the recent warning against eating romaine, will help growers understand FSMA requirements and potential food safety risks on the farm. 

Celebrate the careers, contributions, and well-deserved retirement of HNFAS faculty Brent Buckley and Douglas Vincent and Extension agent Glen Fukumoto on December 17, from 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in Ag Sci 219. Attendees are requested to contribute either monetary donations or potluck foods. 

A laudatory article in the Maui News spotlights Extension agent Cynthia Nazario-Leary (TPSS). Cynthia is also a CTAHR alumna, with a master’s degree in horticulture and a doctorate in Natural Resources and Environmental Management. Now, as an agent in urban horticulture, she is trialing sunflower varieties, overseeing the Bee House, and coordinating the Maui Master Gardeners.

The first study to implicate ambrosia beetles in Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death (ROD) has been published by the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR) at the University of Hawai‘i.

Feeling yellow? You may want to check out the Tomato Yellow Leaf Curl Virus Field Screening Pop-In Field Day. The college has been screening new varieties of tomatoes for possible resistance to the Tomato Yellow Leaf Curl Virus, and a field day of resistant varieties will be held on Saturday, November 24, at the Waimanalo Research Station to go over field screenings that have been conducted in 2018 in the certified organic and GoFarm field plots. 

The Cooperative Extension forestry team is teaming up with the island Invasive Species Committees, Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Forestry & Wildlife, Hawai‘i Tourism Authority, and Hawai‘i Ecotourism Association to offer a series of free workshops for eco-tour operators on how to avoid spreading the pathogen that causes Rapid ‘Ōhi‘a Death and other invasive species. 

All are invited to attend the interview presentations of the candidates for junior/assistant Extension agent for agricultural economics on Friday, November 30; Tuesday, December 4; and Wednesday, December 5. Each candidate will speak on the topic of “Developing an Extension Program in Agricultural Economics for Hawai‘i.” 

All are invited to attend the interview presentations of the candidates for junior/assistant Extension agent for livestock on Hawai‘i Island on Monday, December 10, and Wednesday, December 12. Each candidate will speak on the topic of “Developing a Livestock Extension Program in Hawai‘i County.” 

Troubled by wild beasts? Growers who are have requested assistance in managing the wild animals that enter farm areas and destroy edible crops. In response, Cooperative Extension will be holding a Wild Animal Deterrent: Electric Fence Field Day on December 8 at the Waimanalo Research Station to show how wild animals can be excluded from production areas using an electric fencing system.