Alumni News

It’s virtually invisible to the naked eye; only a mere hint of movement from a minuscule grayish dot can be discerned. Yet, this really small wasp, appropriately named Phymastichus coffea because it targets the coffee berry borer (CBB) pest, may be the salvation that coffee growers across the state have been praying for. In the coming months, researchers in the Dept. of Plant and Environmental Protection Sciences and USDA-ARS plan to deploy thousands of these wasps in coffee-growing areas on the Big Island, and possibly Maui and Oʻahu.

How do fish cope with changes in water temperature and salinity when they are literally bathed in those stressors? That question was answered just a few years ago by researchers in the Dept. of Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Sciences, who discovered that fish mediate heat stress and salinity acclimation via the hormone prolactin.

The biggest event in fashion design to hit the isles in over a decade was also the culmination of much planning and hard work for students in the Fashion Design and Merchandising Program of the Dept. of Family and Consumer Sciences.

As more than 250 students from 24 high schools across the state gathered to participate in this year’s Future Farmers of America convention on Oʻahu, the Urban Garden Center proved a key resource in the event. The youths visited UGC and took part in fast-paced educational activities around the facility. With their teachers, the students got their hands dirty restarting a static hydroponic system, harvesting locally grown fruits and veggies in raised beds, and transplanting succulents.

You might associate drones with the inescapable sound of buzzing you hear when you’re relaxing at the beach or hiking up Koko Crater, but soon, you might also begin hearing the hum of drones over Hawaiʻi’s farmlands. Last month, CTAHR Extension agents held a seminar at the Urban Garden Center discussing the use of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), or drones, in agriculture as part of UGCʻs “Extension: Ground Support” series.