Reducing Pacific Island Growers' Reliance on Off-island Fertilizer Sources Through Improved Awareness and Efficient Use of Local

Reducing Pacific Island Growers' Reliance on Off-island Fertilizer Sources Through Improved Awareness and Efficient Use of Local

Summary

Replacing imported fertilizers with local resources is the highest priority identified by the participants of the Western SARE Hawai’i Subregional conference held in Hawaii. Lab and greenhouse experiments were conducted to screen locally-produced composts and fertilizers for their N release and plant growth response (Please see results section for more details). Periodically, samples from Island Commodities have been collected to quantify their nutrient content and measure stability of the product over time. Samples of major algae invasive species were collected periodically and analyzed for their potassium content. Research is on going on other objectives/activities of this proposal

Objectives/Performance Targets

1. Enhance the capacity of at least 300 growers, compost producers and other agricultural professionals in Hawaii, American Samoa and elsewhere to evaluate compost quality.

2. Identify the most important variables influencing the effect of rendered meat products (tankage) on plant growth and mineral nutrition in Hawaii and American Samoa.

3. Quantify the independent and interactive effect of species, collection location and simple processing on nutrient content and availability of three algae species collected from multiple sites on Oahu, Molokai and Hawaii islands.

4. Ensure dissemination of information from this project to producers and agricultural professionals throughout the Pacific region beyond the project duration.

Accomplishments/Milestones

*Completed analyses of two lab mineralization experiments.

*Three greenhouse experiments were completed. These were to examine Chinese cabbage growth response to the application of different composts and rates of application under different soils.

*Validation of the Oregon State University organic fertilizer and covercrop calculator using mineralization data from local fertilizers has been initiated.

*On-going lab experiments are evaluating a solution fertilizer with high nutrient content using tankage compost and algae, to be used for fertigation purposes.

*Evaluation of local tankage for product stability and maturity is on-going.

*In collaboration with the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), samples of invasive algae species been collected to evaluate the invasive species potassium content.

*A graduate student has joined our crew to obtain a PhD degree. This student is developing his research proposal based on the project theme.

• Results section

Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes

1. Local fertilizer producers report improved knowledge of product quality.

2. Utilizers of algae, tankage and compost are incorporating project recommendations into their operations.

3. Biosecurity protocols have reduced concerns of algae spread to other areas.

Publications:

Conferences/Abstract

Amjad Ahmad, N. Hue and T. Radovich. 2012. Screening Hawaii’s Locally Produced Composts for Their Nitrogen Release and Plant Growth Response Under Different Soils. American Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS) Annual Meeting, July 31 to August 3. Miami, FL, USA.

Project Modifications:

Due to the risk of spreading out invasive algae species into shores where they do not exist at right now, different methods of heating and drying been used to reduce their viability prior to conducting experiments to evaluate their nutrient release and plant growth response.

Target Audience:

1. Local farmers and producers on Hawaiian and the Pacific Islands.

2. Local extension agents on different Hawaiian and the Pacific Islands.

3. Professionals at universities and community colleges.

4. USDA and NRCS agents.

Collaborators: