Alumni News

By the time it was discovered in Hawaiʻi in 2016, this invasive pest had already damaged 2,000 acres of rangeland. A scant eight generations later, the Twolined Spittlebug (TLSB) had expanded its range to more than 176,000 acres. In highly infested areas where nymph density exceeded 50/m², the result was nearly 100% die back of key range forages, including Kikuyu and pangola grasses – and their loss exposed the land to invasive plants like Pamakani, wild blackberry, and fireweed. Livestock producers faced devastating economic losses.

In trick-

In trick-

In trick-or-treat like fashion, home gardeners from all corners of the community made their rounds at the Urban Garden Center’s recent “Extension in the Garden Day.” Visiting Extension faculty and Master Gardener educational booths, the excited participants filled their recycled containers with a diversity of locally adapted crops that had been field tested by Extension agents around the state.

Students in the Dept. of Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Sciencesʻ Animal Science program are generally positioned toward a career working with, well, animals. But to encourage our students to think about biomedical research and (the many) options for careers out there, we paid an eye-opening visit on October 27 to JABSOMʻs Institute of Biogenesis Research laboratory.

The “walking plant encyclopedia,” a.k.a. Richard Criley of the Dept. of Tropical Plant and Soil Sciences (emeritus), was the featured guest on Hawaiʻi Public Radio’s The Conversation recently. With host Lilian Tsang, who met Richard for a walk-through at Waimānalo Research Station, the interview began with a bit of history of Waimānalo and the heritage cultivars created in the 1950s by Bill Moragne on Kauaʻi.

Hear ye! Hear ye! The CTAHR Alumni Association & Friends is hosting a Plant Sale THIS Sunday, Novmeber 6, 9:00 a.m. to high noon (12:00 p.m.) at Magoon Research Station the back of lovely Manoa Valley. In collaboration with the Botanical Society of America, Hawai'i Chapter, the plant sale is to celebrate Arbor Day. Various herbs/vegetables, succulents, ferns, ornamentals, and seedling/microgreen kits will be available for purchase. All proceeds from the sale will go toward providing activities and resources to students.