Roots of Kalo Diseases
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I was watching a video featuring Jerry Konanui and something he mentioned sparked a thought. He was telling us about the different varieties of kalo and how they were matched to their environments. Some prefer cooler highlands, others the steamy lowlands, some wetland culture, others upland culture and soforth. The kahuna of old would build his kalo patch and plant the kalo that was best matched to the region.
As such, the cultivation of kalo has lasted for centuries – with little report of disease problems. Indeed, back in 1939 there were at least 84 varieties of ancient kalo growing on the islands. It had declined from 300 varieties for a number of factors then – primarily the subduing of the Hawaiian culture by the US after we stole the throne, and the rising popularity of rice and other easier to grow starches.
The issues of disease seems to be fairly recent then. At least on the cataclysmic scales that the diseases can manifest today, wiping out entire crops in a season. Why? What has changed from the centuries before? Kalo was surely traded amongst the visitors from other islands, so imported diseases, while a possibility, are likely only a small part of the equation. But one thing does come to mind.
When kalo was not a commodity, it was grown by kahuna based on the old wisdom. But, now that “modern” agriculture has invaded – and the commodity mindset has polluted the motives, a subtle change has occured. Rather than growing the kalo where the kalo desires to grow, the primary force now is what is selling the best. It’s about money now. This is generalizing, of course, but the phenomenon has become ubiquitious in virtually all of the commodities markets – grow what sells, grow what the masses prefer.
What does this mean? Well, Maui Lehua has become popular, bringing in a premium on the market. So, what are farmers to do? They must make a living in this new Western economy, so they try to grow what is selling. But, not all farms are created equal. Some are up higher, others are down lower, some have abundant water, others are upland only. A plant that has adapted to a specific region of Maui is now being cultivated on many of the islands in many different conditions.
Living in Texas and trying to grow tropicals here, I’ve learned that plants cannot be forced to grow – their environment has to be as close to their preferences as possible to avoid trouble – otherwise the plants are stressed and stressed plants have low resistance to disease and pests.
Is it possible then, that the root of the kalo disease problem is the fact that we’re trying to grow it like it was corn, cultivating what sells regardless of the location? That in many locations the conditions are just enough out of the range of adaptability for this plant that it’s weakened, however slightly? And as weakened, isn’t it logical then to consider it will be more susceptible to even the common diseases that it would normally shrug off?
While the specifics need more research and there are surely other factors like not allowing the land to rest between crops and similar, that is a direction I posit on this issue. Return the varieties back to where they grow best and abandon the “what sells” mantra and we may very well see a vast reduction in the disease issues. Combine that with the freeing up of the waters that the farmers needs and had access to over the generations to grow their kalo – another critical issue that also adds stress to the plants.
Instead, the industry is using this as an excuse to own kalo. Rather than seeking the root of the issue, they seek to band-aid it with GMO’s. However, unless you get to the root, you won’t solve the problem. You’ll only mask the symptoms for a short while then they’ll be back even stronger. This was done with the papaya and the GMO’s are heralding success on all their glossy brochures – however, if we’ve learned anything from the banana and cacao issues, their success will be short-lived.
Nature finds a way – it’s an arms race between plant and pathogen and if the plants are genetically static the disease will find a weakness and in this case the GMO’d plants will fall catastrophically. This will be made all the worse by the fact that, and this is something that the banana industry is learning very painfully, when you have a monopoly, or when you have all your eggs in one basket, disaster awaits. Everyone wants the yellow 9″ nanner – so farmers around the world are growing basically genetic clones. When a disease hits – the lack of diversity results in absolute catastrophe. The same will happen with the GMO monopolies being formed.
So, rather than trying to patch the symptoms, seek to find the root of the problem and rectify that. Diseases are nothing new – we are what’s new. If crops that grew for centuries are suddenly failing, then we must look to ourselves and figure out where we are failing – for the kalo is just fine.
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October 10th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
[...] Aside from abandoning traditional soil enrichment techniques, a big challenge to kalo is that it is cultivated with little thought to where it wants to grow. Different varieties prefer slightly different environments and locations. In the day of the Hawaiians, kalo was grown where it desired to grow – where it performed the best. Today, it is grown by farmers desperate to pay their bills – and without regard of where it desires to grow. In this manner, kalo is forced into environments where the water is too warm or too cold, where the soil is too dry in upland, or where organic media is nearly absent from the soil. Up til now, the kahuna were able to cultivate kalo without the catastrophic disease problems that are plaguing us today. And with our supposedly superior knowledge and technology, we can’t seem to get a grasp of it today? Kalo is not the problem – we are. And we can fix it. [...]