Hawaii - Ho'olehua Plant Materials Center

The Plant Materials Program first established a PMC in Hawaii in 1957, on island of Maui.  In 1973 the center was relocated to the island of Molokai, on the fertile agricultural plains of Ho’olehua.  Today, the 80 acre Hoolehua Plant Materials Center is responsible for servicing the needs for the entire Pacific Island Area (PIA). The PIA is a vast region that is divided into two sub-areas: The East and the West. The East Area includes the State of Hawaii and American Samoa. The West Area includes the Territory of Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of Palau, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands.

Soils of the PIA are derived from volcanic lava, eruptive deposits of ash, tuff and cinders, and limestone and alluvial deposits from coral reefs. Land use is diversified with large acreages devoted to ranching, sugarcane, macadamia nuts, coffee, and pineapple and smaller acreages used for truck crops, orchards, and subsistence farming. Major resource concerns include livestock production limitations, soil erosion, soil quality degradation, and degraded plant conditions. These are addressed through plant-based technology development and education through public outreach.

The Ho'olehua Plant Materials Center has developed 10 conservation plant releases including sunn hemp, desmodium, paspalum. Seashore paspalum, perennial soybean, tall erythrina, and 4 native Hawaiian plants, aweoweo, aalii, kawelu, and piligrass. Recently, there has been a shift of focus for the HIPMC from conservation plant release development to information technology development and providing answers to plant-related questions that NRCS field staff may have.

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