2019 ASHS Annual Conference

Turmeric and its relatives (Curcuma spp.) are grown for their rhizomes and consumed worldwide as food, spice, preservative, and coloring agent. Turmeric is also valued in Ayurvedic, Chinese, Hawaiian and other medical traditions to treat numerous illnesses, due in part to the antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and anticarcinogenic properties of curcuminoids. The turmeric industry has been rapidly expanding in Hawaii in response to increased demand at the local, national and international level. Field trials across the state are being conducted to assess marketable yield, curcuminoid concentrations, and suitability for various market outlets. One such field trial was conducted on the island of Maui at the University of Hawai’i Cooperative Extension’s fields in Kula Agricultural Park. This germplasm evaluation was arranged in a randomized complete block design with four replications and included one accession each of C. aromatica, C. caesia, C. mangga, as well as five varieties of C. longa: ‘Olena’, ‘BKK’, ‘Mystic’, ‘Joy’, and ‘Hawaiian Red’. Five plants per replicate were planted in May 2018 and were were harvested in February 2019. Fresh weights were taken at harvest for both marketable rhizomes and mother corms, which are used as seed. While there were not significant differences among the rhizome yields of C. longa varieties, the rhizome yield of Hawaii’s industry standard ‘Hawaiian Red’ was numerically 37.5% greater than ‘BKK’, a variety previously identified as having very high (9%) curcumin content. C. aromatica and C. mangga yielded significantly more rhizomes than the C. longa varieties and C. caesia. Curcuma mangga (Mango Ginger) in particular has potential as a new crop in Hawaii due to is heavy yields and high palatability in value added products such as pickles.