Taro

:This article is about the plant. See Taro (disambiguation) for other uses.

Taro production in Hawai‘i

Taro is usually grown in pondfields called lo‘i (in Hawaiian). Typical upland varieties presently grown in Hawai‘i are Lehua maoli and Bun long, the latter widely known as Chinese taro. Bun long is used for making taro chips. Dasheen (also called "eddo") is another "dryland" variety of C. esculenta grown for its edible corms or sometimes just as an ornamental plant.

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The picture below shows several small lo‘i in Maunawili Valley on O‘ahu. The ditch on the left in the picture is called an ‘auwai and supplies diverted stream water to the lo‘i or pondfields. Cool flowing water yields the best crop. Some of the taro plants in the foreground have been harvested and the caretakers are preparing to replant the huli stacked at their feet. These are the top portion of the corm with a short piece of bladeless leafstem.

Related Topics:
Maunawili Valley - O‘ahu

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The Hawai'i Agricultural Statistics Service puts the 10-year median production of taro in the Hawaiian Islands at about 6.1 million pounds (2,800 t). However, 2003 taro production in Hawai'i was only 5 million pounds (2,300 t) an all-time low. The previous low, reached in 1997, was 5.5 million pounds (2,500 t). Urbanization has driven down harvests from a high of 14.1 million pounds (6,400 t) in 1948. But more recently the decline has resulted from pests and diseases. A non-native apple snail (Pomacea canaliculata) is a major culprit in the current crop decline. Also, a plant rot disease, traced to a newly identified species of the fungal genus Phytophthora, now plagues crops throughout the state. Although pesticides could control both pests to some extent, pesticide use in the pondfields is barred because of the clear opportunity for chemicals to quickly migrate into streams and then the ocean (Viotti, 2004).

Related Topics:
Apple snail - Fungal - Phytophthora

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