Kava propagation/production
hkobayashi Hi, I study tissue culturte of kava at University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and our group have published a couple of paper on production of kavapyrones in tissue culture. I am wondering about a few things on kava propagation and production. I did a search on this, but I didn't find much information on this. First, what is the success rate of propagating kava plants from nodes/stems? I have tried to do this, but it wasn't quite successful here. I am also interested what the survival rate after sprouting of shoots would be. And how many plants does an average nursery propagate per year? I read in the Extension Bulletin that Kava Dieback is quite rampant, but is this still the case? Thank you for your time and attention, and hope to hear from you. Sincerely, Hideka Kobayashi
Ed Johnston Replying to Hideka Kobayasgi, from Ed Johnston: Over the past 10 years my 'awa (kava) nursery (Alia Point 'Awa Nursery) has propagated thousands of 'awa plants from numerous cultivars using a single node method that we developed. If the mother plant (what you take your cuttings from) is healthy we have averaged 90% of single node cuttings developing to field ready plants. My little nursery, at its peak in 1997-'99 produced about 5,000 plants per year. When farmers got their own stockplants (often from me) they did their own propagating by using some of my methods and some of their own. Some of these farms have produced far more plants than my nursery. An example is C. Brewer & Co. which propagated about 20 acres of 'awa plant over a year or two of work. 20 acres at about 2,000 plus, plants per acre. Kava Dieback has been a problem in Hawai'i. It is not as devastating as it sounds though and tends to run its course and farmers try to clean up diseased plants and re-plant. If you would like detailed information on some propagation methods, etc. for research purposes, our Association for Hawaiian 'Awa (AHA) has a little booklet on the subject.
quote:
Originally posted by hkobayashi
Hi, I study tissue culturte of kava at University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and our group have published a couple of paper on production of kavapyrones in tissue culture. I am wondering about a few things on kava propagation and production. I did a search on this, but I didn't find much information on this. First, what is the success rate of propagating kava plants from nodes/stems? I have tried to do this, but it wasn't quite successful here. I am also interested what the survival rate after sprouting of shoots would be. And how many plants does an average nursery propagate per year? I read in the Extension Bulletin that Kava Dieback is quite rampant, but is this still the case? Thank you for your time and attention, and hope to hear from you. Sincerely, Hideka Kobayashi
hkobayashi Mr. Johnson, Thank you very much for your reply. From what I understand, the stem/node must be sturdy to a certain extent. My experience with top (fresh) cutting has not been successful so far. Could I ask you to send me additional info. if you do not mind? Although I did not work on virual diseases, I do have a background in plant pathology. From what I read, maintenance of the clean stock seems very difficult due to the prevalence of the viral vector. Many times you do not see symptoms of the disease because the environment is optimal. It seems all plants I have received so far are infected with cucumber mosaic virus. The symptoms are very severe from late Spring to Fall. Kava plants do not grow well from late Fall to Spring, so it is tough for me to say how much viral infection plays a role. Sincerely, Hideka
Ed Johnston Hideka: I will send you the booklet today, to the address in your profile--Ed JohnsTon
hcbitt
quote:
Originally posted by hkobayashi
Mr. Johnson, Thank you very much for your reply. From what I understand, the stem/node must be sturdy to a certain extent. My experience with top (fresh) cutting has not been successful so far. Could I ask you to send me additional info. if you do not mind? Although I did not work on virual diseases, I do have a background in plant pathology. From what I read, maintenance of the clean stock seems very difficult due to the prevalence of the viral vector. Many times you do not see symptoms of the disease because the environment is optimal. It seems all plants I have received so far are infected with cucumber mosaic virus. The symptoms are very severe from late Spring to Fall. Kava plants do not grow well from late Fall to Spring, so it is tough for me to say how much viral infection plays a role. Sincerely, Hideka
Aloha Hideka Kobayashi, I'm kjust completing a study of establishment of kava with 2, 3, and 4 node pieces buried horizontally 2-3 cm deep in soil in flats,in large pots, and in the field. Germination was very high. You might wish to visit our college web site www.ctahr.hawaii.edu click on 'Commercial Horticulture, then Farmer's Bookshelf , then Nutraceuticals then 'awa. H.C "Skip" Bittenbender
hkobayashi Dear Dr. Bittenbender, Thank you for the link. It was very helpful [:)] Sincerely, Hideka
hkobayashi
quote:
Originally posted by Ed Johnston
Hideka: I will send you the booklet today, to the address in your profile--Ed JohnsTon
Mr. Johnson, Thank you very much for the artcles. The package was misplaced (somebody put it on the top of mail box), and I did not receive it until today. I truely appreciate it. I have tried to send you electronic version of reprints our group have publsihed to your AOL account, but they bounced back. Could I have your e-mail address so that I can send them to you? Or if you like a real reprints, I can contact the first authors so that they can send them to you. Thank you again for your help! Sincerely, Hideka