ʻŌhiʻa Disease Resistance Program

Critically, disease-resistant plants will provide our island communities with the opportunity to return ‘ōhi‘a to their backyards, schools, and places of work. The planting of native ‘ōhi‘a that are resistant to ROD, instead of non-native species, will allow these native plant communities to grow and foster an appreciation for native Hawaiian species. Providing communities with the opportunity to plant ‘ōhi‘ā without fear of ROD will foster a new generation of stewards that will care for the land and help support sustainable livelihoods for the areas in which they live.

To aid in the search for ROD-resistance, and provide a hands-on, impactful conservation experience, the ODRP is teaming up with Pilina ʻĀina, a partnership between the USDA Forest Service, Akaka Foundation for Tropical Forests, and University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, and local schools to get students involved in ROD-resistance research.

As part of this program, ʻŌhiʻa Grow Kit packages, including locally collected seeds, will be given to students at two schools -- Laupāhoehoe Community Public Charter School and Kohala Middle School. Students will receive educational packets containing moʻolelo (stories) about ʻōhiʻa, as well as instructions on how to collect their own phenology data through kilo, or careful observation. As the students’ own ʻōhiʻa trees sprout and grow, they will track their progress and observe the trees through their early life phases. By the end of the project, students will potentially have two healthy ʻōhiʻa trees, one of which they can outplant into their own “backyard,” and one which can be donated back to the Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry’s greenhouse to support the disease resistance research, where each tree will be screened for ROD-resistance. Some of these trees may show ROD-resistance and be one of the genetic lines that helps to rebuild our native Hawaiian forests.

This project will be launched in the winter of 2021 at both Laupāhoehoe Community Public Charter School and Kohala Middle School. Each student will have their own sprouted seedlings in a few months, and the trees will be ready to outplant or transfer back for ROD research by the summer of 2022.

As a keystone species, ‘ōhi‘ā forests provide food and habitat for numerous native insects, birds, and plants. Climate change is a major threat to the health of our native forests, and is predicted to destabilize the ranges of forest pathogens worldwide, resulting in further loss of our important native species. However, inclusion of ROD-resistant ‘ōhi‘a in forests mitigate the losses realized by ROD, leading to enhanced resilience of Hawaiʻi’s native forests and the species that inhabit them.