News and Events


«April 2025»
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
31123456
78910111213
14151617181920
21222324252627
2829301234
567891011

Not Root-Knot

Not Root-Knot 2 February 2018

Not Root-Knot

Coffee farmers got the low-down on a root-knot nematode at a Kona research plot that's amassed 11 years of research data on the pest.

Forestry Find

Forestry Find 2 February 2018

Forestry Find

Check out the great new website for Hawai‘i Forestry Extension!

Aquaponics and Health

Aquaponics and Health 21 December 2017

Aquaponics and Health

CTAHR Community Coordinator Ilima Ho-Lastimosa is part of a multidisciplinary effort to address health disparities thorough backyard aquaponics.

Maui County Awardees

Maui County Awardees 21 December 2017

Maui County Awardees

Maui County Extension celebrated its 2017 award winners — Secretary Clarisse Baisa, to left in lei, for service to faculty and staff, and Research Technician Edwin Perez, at right in cap, winner of the Administrator’s Award.

Congratulations Shirley Han!

Congratulations Shirley Han! 21 December 2017

Congratulations Shirley Han!

Office Assistant Shirley Han, left, was recognized for her service to the Molokai Cooperative Extension staff at a December 2017 lunch hosted by Maui County Administrator Cynthia Reeves (in red).

Bee on Screen

Bee on Screen 14 November 2017

Bee on Screen

Videos on the life cycle of bees and apian role in the rise of flowering plants captured national entomology awards for a CTAHR-led team.

Good Breeding

Good Breeding 14 November 2017

Good Breeding

Bred under the direction of the Mealani Research Station staff, CTAHR bulls rank among the top 5% of Angus in the country and are free of a common genetic disorder.

GoFarm’s Weigert Rocks

GoFarm’s Weigert Rocks 14 November 2017

GoFarm’s Weigert Rocks

Agritourism expert and one of “five women rocking” the Hawai‘i food scene Pomai Weigert has joined GoFarm as an agbusiness consultant.

Elder Affairs Advisor

Elder Affairs Advisor 14 November 2017

Elder Affairs Advisor

Center on the Family Assistant Specialist Sarah Yuan has been re-appointed to the State’s Policy Advisory Board for Elder Affairs for a second four-year term.

New Kaua‘i Agent

New Kaua‘i Agent 26 October 2017

New Kaua‘i Agent

Emilie Kirk has joined the Kaua‘i County Cooperative Extension team as junior Extension agent and Master Gardener coordinator with a focus on edible crops, food safety and security, ag education and production, and leadership development.

Virus Free is Sweet

Virus Free is Sweet 23 October 2017

Virus Free is Sweet

CTAHR organized a sweetpotato growers meeting featuring mainland experts and yield-boosting virus-tested ‘Okinawan’ planting materials.

Ruminating on Peas

Ruminating on Peas 23 October 2017

Ruminating on Peas

Low-water, nitrogen-fixing, tasty cowpeas are a potential niche crop for Hawai‘i producers, as Junior Extension Agent Jensen Uyeda recently demonstrated.

Delegates to National 4-H Congress

Delegates to National 4-H Congress 28 September 2017

Delegates to National 4-H Congress

The State committee reviewed the senior portfolios, interviewed the 4-H’ers and have come up with a list of 10 delegates qualified to represent Hawaii at this year’s National 4-H Congress in late November.

Giant Success

Giant Success 28 September 2017

Giant Success

East Hawai‘i 4-H had a huge presence at the Hawai‘i County Fair—both as volunteers and producers. In fact, they set four state records for produce—including a 20+ pound kalo and 137+ and 2+ pound tomato.

Samoa Swine Survey

Samoa Swine Survey 20 September 2017

Samoa Swine Survey

CTAHR Specialist Halina Zaleski assists in American Samoa’s first swine disease survey in two decades.

Irrigation Covered

Irrigation Covered 13 September 2017

Irrigation Covered

Choosing, funding, and using irrigation systems and conservation groundcovers was the focus of a Cooperative Extension workshop for orchardists at the Kona Extension Office and Research Station.

Documents to download

  • irrigate(.jpg, 90.61 KB) - 3012 download(s)

Myanmar Mission

Myanmar Mission 13 September 2017

Myanmar Mission

Glen Fukumoto and Jonathan Deenik teamed up to teach poultry waste composting and soil fertility to Myanmar farmers and officials through a USAID–funded Farmer-to-Farmer workshop series.

Digest this…

Digest this… 13 September 2017

Digest this…

Anerobic biodigester technology has improved the quality of life for Cambodian farmers, turning animal waste to fuel and fertilizer, thanks in part to MBBE researcher Samir Khanal.

‘Ulu Day on Maui

‘Ulu Day on Maui 12 September 2017

‘Ulu Day on Maui

Maui Master Gardeners helped homeowners select appropriate trees and TPSS’s Noa Lincoln described his research on the staple food crop during the Valley Isle’s first La ‘Ulu (Breadfruit Day).

New 4-H Horse Pen

New 4-H Horse Pen 12 September 2017

New 4-H Horse Pen

Na Lima A Me Na Pu‘uwai O Kohala 4-H Club families and community sponsors celebrated their new riding pen with a horse show, barbecue and other activities.

RSS
First1718192021222325
18 November 2022

Dr. Arnold Hara

PEPS emeritus professor helped safeguard tropical floriculture

Dr. Arnold Hara

by Koon-Hui Wang

To our great sadness, Dr. Arnold Hara passed away on October 20. Dr. Hara, born in 1950, attended Hilo High School and received a BS and MS in Entomology from the University of Hawaiʻi, and his PhD from the University of California at Davis under the direction of Dr. Harry Kaya.

Dr. Hara was hired as faculty in Entomology, currently the Dept. of Plant and Environmental Protection Sciences. He was stationed at the Komohana Research and Extension Center in Hilo as an Ornamental Entomologist and Extension Specialist. His research focused on the development of pest management programs for tropical floricultural crops, especially pre- and post-harvest control treatments in a systems approach to quarantine security.

Besides his arthropod pest management programs, Dr. Hara’s other research accomplishments include the development of heat treatments to control quarantine pests, such as coqui frog and plant-parasitic nematodes. His elite research team worked closely with the nursery industry and a volcanic cinder provider to develop a steam treatment to disinfest truckloads of cinders infested by reniform nematodes, which safeguarded the Hawaiʻi foliage industry, allowing shipments to California to continue.

Along with his innovation of a mobile hot shower freight container to disinfest nursery products of coqui frogs, slugs, ants, and other quarantine pests, Dr. Hara’s team won multiple honors, including an Extension award from the University of Hawaiʻi, Governor’s Award as State Team of the Year, CTAHR Dean’s Award for Excellence in Research, and being named to the MIDPAC Hall of Fame of the Hawaiʻi Export Nursery Association.

Dr. Hara retired from CTAHR in 2015 and was awarded emeritus status by the Board of Regents. In his retirement, he continued to be an active member of Hilo Meishoin and the Hawaiian Entomological Society. He led Hawaiʻi in the Western Region IPM program as a coordinator for many years, and was a mentor to many students, a collaborative colleague to faculty, and respected within the community. He is survived by his wife Myrtle, daughters Kendra (Jason) Botelho and Krislyn Hara, sister Lilian (Carl) Murakami, his grandchildren, and many relatives in Hilo, Honolulu, and San Francisco.