The Pebbles that Started the Tea and Ohelo Berry Projects in Hawaii

Hawaii farmers face many challenges in production, i.e., high cost of operation, limited affordable land, infra-structure, energy, and human resources. After World War II, success in research into new crops contributed to the economic development and stability in Hawaii. Some crops included pineapple (Ananas comosus), sugar (Saccharum officnarum), macadamia (Macadamia integrifolia), anthurium (Anthurium spp.), and orchids (Dendrobium hybrids). In the past three decades, the high cost of production and marketing in Hawaii caused a gradual migration of industries overseas. In 1997, the declining sugar industry set off a search for new crops. No single crop was identified to replace sugar in scale or value. High costs of production will always be challenging Hawaii agricultural industries. During this time, one crop remained viable—the Kona coffee industry. Kona coffee is a unique portable product of high quality for a specialized market. Although many countries can produce coffee, only Hawaii produces Kona coffee. Tea was introduced to Hawaii in 1887—the high cost of production and marketing severely constrained the development of tea as a commodity crop. In 1997, a novel small-scale tea processing method was introduced using the microwave oven; the method encouraged testing and processing of tea by entrepreneurs in their own kitchens. The artisan approach in tea processing was the little pebble that started the tea interest in Hawaii. The other pebble was ‘Ōhelo or ‘Ōhelo ai (Vaccinium reticulatum), an endemic Hawaiian relative of the blueberry. People frequently scour the landscape where it is grown, disrupting fragile habitats to harvest its berries for use in jam, jelly, and pie filling. The impact to delicate environments might be reduced if ‘ōhelo could be cultivated and marketed to meet demands.  From 2008–2011, a project began in Hawaii and Oregon to streamline the propagation, conservation, and sustainable use of the resource through improving cultivation and making plants available as tissue culture and seeds without additional pressure on wild stands. The project also emphasised extension and outreach to user communities including nursery, culinary, and confectionary industries.  The team released three ‘ōhelo cultivars for ornamental and berry production; we identified environmental effects favorable to growing ‘ōhelo, and the host–pathogen relationship, etiology, and disease management as a crop.  The team published, through extension, information on propagation and cultivation; we emphasized long-term conservation, molecular identification, and quality component analysis for this potential new crop from Hawaii.