A Living Mulch Income Enhancer

Project Overview

FW18-052
Project Type: Farmer/Rancher
Funds awarded in 2018: $19,092.00
Projected End Date: 06/30/2020
Grant Recipient: Kevin Chan
Region: Western
State: Hawaii
Principal Investigator:
Kevin Chan
Kevin Chan

Commodities

  • Agronomic: mint

Practices

  • Crop Production: intercropping, no-till
  • Education and Training: demonstration, display, on-farm/ranch research, workshop
  • Pest Management: mulches - living
  • Soil Management: soil quality/health
  • Sustainable Communities: new business opportunities

    Proposal summary:

    Pest control in vegetable crop is a challenge in tropical climate such as Hawaii. Plastic mulches
    are often used but it is bad for the environment and difficult to remove. Living mulches provide a
    reasonable alternative. Mint, a living mulch interplanting with a vegetable crop provides a high
    return. In addition, it reduces soil erosion, retains moisture and nutrients. This farmer research
    grant is geared to assist farmers in understanding the benefits of a mint living mulch and making
    decisions on water and fertilizer inputs needed for successful adoption of mint living mulch in
    their vegetable production. Eggplant (Solanum melongena ‘Waimanalo Long’) will serve as the
    vegetable crop. Demonstration plots will be established. Data will be collected to compare
    yields, soil quality and the profitability of mint living mulch using partial budgeting. The
    sustainability of the mint living mulch vegetable cropping systems will be promoted through
    field days and publications. Growers will be invited to the farm and see first-hand the mint living
    mulch and be presented information on the economics of the mint living mulch, the yield of
    eggplant and pest pressure experienced under the plastic mulch and the mint living mulch
    cropping systems. The farmers will observe the different irrigation regimes. A second on-farm
    field day will be held 6 months later and a third field day will be held 3 months before the project
    terminates. This project will work with the University of Hawai‘i Extension Service to target
    vegetables growers and new farmers for the workshops. A publication on vegetable mint living
    mulch costs of production will be developed for use in the field days and accessible on the web
    page. Finally, for each workshop and demonstration, an evaluation and feedback from the
    attendees will be solicited, analyzed and improved.

    Project objectives from proposal:

    Objectives of the project:
    This farmer research grant is geared to assist farmers in understanding the benefits of a
    mint living mulch and making decisions on water and fertilizer inputs needed for successful
    adoption of mint living mulch in their vegetable production. The specific objectives of this
    proposal are (1) to determine optimal irrigation and fertilizer for a mint living mulch vegetable
    cropping system, (2) document pest and disease pressure in a mint living mulch vegetable cropping systems, and (3) demonstrate and promote the merits of the mint living mulch vegetable cropping system.
    Objectives 1 and 2 are expected to be achieved as they have been demonstrated at the small
    experimental plots at the University of Hawaii experiment station. The project will scale up to
    two-thirds of an acre with irrigation, a manageable size for a small farm vegetable intensification production approach. Three on-farm field demonstration days and workshops will be conducted to ensure interested farmers can attend. Each workshop will last 4 hours. The establishment of the eggplant-mint living mulch will take 6-7 months from seed to the first harvests. The field days will be held beginning nine months into the project to demonstrate the experiments and present analyzed results of yield, profits, pest management, post-harvest handling and value-added mint when processed to oil.

    Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture or SARE.