A Protected Culture Field Day will be held at the Waimanalo Research Station on Wednesday, May 30, from 10:00 a.m. to noon. Participants can visit the Waimanalo screen house projects and walk through a commercial high-tunnel kit system as the final touches are put in place. Extension agent Jari Sugano and associate professor Koon Hui Wang (PEPS) will discuss the benefits and disadvantages of screen and high-tunnel systems and the USDA NRCS cost-share opportunities for high-tunnel systems through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). Replicated and observational field trials conducted at CTAHR have shown screen systems provide excellent control of agricultural pests such as birds, fruit flies, Chinese rose beetles, and
Lepidoptera (worm-type) pests. Jari will demonstrate the benefits of using resistant varieties in screen systems to manage small insect vectors that transmit plant viruses, and participants will be able to see the differences first hand.