The Taro TattlerCollege of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawaii

Information Sheet for the Growers, Shippers, Processors of Chinese, Poi, Dasheen and SamoanTaros from Hawaii

Volume 1. No.2

In this second edition of the Tattler, we would liketo spend some time addressing some responses fromour readers on the information contained in our firstedition of this newsletter, bring you up to date on theUniversity's Taro Project and also provide some infor­mation from the University's specialists in the (taro)field. Look also in this issue for the annoucementon thetaro business conference set for August 17th!

BACKTRACKING

Clarifying the Description of Taro Import DataA readeron the Mainland was quick to note thatthe

45 million pounds of taro/dasheen imported into theU.S.during 1986as reported in the April Tattler, was notall the Colocasia (dryland taro) variety. In fact, he said,much of it was probably the Xanthosoma (Malanga)variety, preferred by the Cubans and SouthAmericans.In which case, our Hawaii-grown taros would proba­bly compete only with the Colocasia from other places,such as Florida, and with the Xanthosoma where it ischeaper or more readily available than Hawaii taros.The reporting of this figure without this qualification,was an oversight resulting from the fact that the De­partment of Commerce lumps all taros, dasheens,

July 1989

malangas and other such root crops under the sameimport code - the correction was very much appreci­ated. Unfortunately, however, it appears that the con­fusionover how muchofwhichspecies is imported willcontinue as long as theydo not have a standard namingscheme for individual taro species . To help get at leasta partial handle on the situation, below is a table con­taining the names of taros in different locations in theU.S.

Basedon this information, it may be in the industry'sbest interest to come up with trade names for the tarosit exports. These names should be displayed wheneverpossible and used when making transactions. Below isone possible example of how a trade name on a bag tagcould be used to sell dryland taro. While this is just oneidea for a bag tag, it contains some very importantinformation which should be attached to all of yourmaterials. 1)Ithas a trade name (note it saysHawaii notHawaiian taro, so that it is not confused with the Lehuavariety). This will separate our taro from the Colocasiagrown in Florida. 2) The tag has the word Royal ­something very unique to Hawaii-and it doesn't looklike anyone has a copyright on the name either. 3)Ithasthe names of the growers and shippers proudly dis­played - good for repeat business (you can use arubber stamp or stick-on label here). 4) On the back,

The Names of Taro's in Different Locals*

Scientific Name Hawaii Los Angeles Florida

Colocasia esculenta var. esculenta Bun Long Chinese taro Hawaii taro root, . Malanga islefiaDryland taro Poi potato taro, dasheen, eddo

Lehua Hawaiian taro imported here? imported here?Poi or wetland taro

Niue Samoan taro Samoan pink: imported here ?

Colocasia esculenta var. antiquorum Dasheen Sato Imo, Taro , eddosor var. globuferia (Araimo) Japanese taro,

eddos

Xanthosoma sp. imported here? Malanga Malanga

* Producing areas include Hawaii, Florida, Western Samoa, Dominican Republic and Costa Rica to name a few.

there is some sort of informative message in all thelanguages of mainland taro buyers. While this is justone of many ways information can be provided tocustomers, it would help to keep Hawaii-grown taro inthe forefront of buyer's minds. This is especially true asmuch of the taro is going out inold onion bags. Gettingall shippers and growers to use the same labels wouldalso reduce the cost of developing and printing thelabels. The industry should contact the Tattler if furtherassistance is required.

~oyalNH~~~iiTaro~Food oJkings and honored guestsJor centuries

Proudly produced and Carefully packed andquality guaranteed by: .hipped by:

Frank Farmer Sam Shipper1989 Taro Terrace 13 A Market RowHilo, Hawaii 96888 Hilo, Hawaii 96888(8~) 949·5555 (8~) 9S9-5555FAX (808) 949·5554 FAX (808) 9S9·5554

But if s1tipp~d tutd slor~d at 560F

HawaII-grown Chinese taro - Available year round

Sam~ m~ssag~ ill Chin~s~III LaoIII ThaiIn Vi~t1tam~s~

IIISpallishIIIJapaMs~

In Filipino

UPCOMING EVENTS

In Celebration of Taro: Taro Festival, WindwardCommunity College, Oahu, Saturday July 22,1989.

This one day gathering on the Windward side ofOahu will highlight cultural and culinary aspects oftaro. It starts at 9:00 am and runs until 2:30 pm. CallMitsue Carlson of Friends of Taro at 537-9158for moreinformation.

Taro Conference on the Big Island, Thursday, August17,1989 .

To follow-up on the work done on the Taro projectby University personnel, a one day conference will beheld at the University of Hawaii Hilo AgriculturalComplex. Conference organizer, Big Island extensionagent Dwight Sato, has planned a comprehensive pro­gram, including discussions on taro farm economics,taro-based food products, Mainland market potential,and crop and pest management, among others. Ifyoudo not receive a conference notice by mid July callDwight at 959-9155. The conference fee is $5.00.

1989 Produce Marketing Association (PMA) Exposi­tion, October 15-17, 1989, Reno Nevada.

From the pages of the Hawaii Mac Facts, May 1,1989, comes word that this is the best trade show foragricultural produce marketing, so get your taro andtaro products ready! Contact Calvin Lee or LarryYamamoto at the DOA in Honolulu at 548-7138 formore information.

MARKETING MISCELLANEA

Sources of New MarketsThe produce marketing industry has two resource

books that may be worth the $200 - $300 you pay for ayearly subscription. The Red Book, published by thefine trade journal The Packer, provides the names,addresses, commodity types and a financial assess­ment of produce firms in North America. The BlueBook, published by the Produce Reporter Company,provides basically the same services. By spending afew moments with either of these two books, you canoften locate a potential new buyer. You can also takeout reasonably priced adds which reach thousands ofcustomers every week. The Thomas Grocery Registerand Quick Frozen Foods are two other sources ofpotential clients for taro and taro-based products. Seeyour local library for these resources. Lastly, go take alook in the big grocery stores and in the small healthfood shops. There are lots of companies producingchips, flours, and noodles and they may be interested inreceiving a sample of your products so jot down theiraddress and send them a free sample.

Contact The Red Book at: The Red Book, P.O. Box2939,Shawnee Mission, Kansas 66201, phone # «913)451-2200,FAX (913) 451-5821. Write to the Blue Bookat: Produce Reporter Company, 315 West WesleyStreet, Weaton, Illinois 60187, phone # (312) 668-3500,FAX (312) 668-0303, for more information on theirservices and publications. As for which one is best, it'sa matter of personal preference.

Taking Advantage of Your New Markets And Rein­forcing Existing Ones

Last time we mentioned many ways to increase thesale of taro. From a California shipper comes theseadditional suggestions:

1) Contact your shipper and offer to provide twotypes of taro packaging. A Family Pack, where abag or box of fresh taros is limited to taros of 4pounds or less. After all, when the retail prices isover $1.oo/1b, how many people can justify orafford to spend $7.00 on a 6.5 pound taro! Thereshould also be a Restaurant or Institutional Packwhere the taros are 4 pounds and up. The larger

EXTENSION AGENTS CORNER

The following harvest and handling procedures aresuggested to reduce transit rots and to keep your tarothe best it can be:

1) Pick the corms when they are between7to 9monthsold. After 9 months the starch in the corm turns tosugar very rapidly, reducing its desirability in boththe fresh and processed markets.

2) Using gloves, pull up the taro by grabbing it low onthe stalk and rockinggentlyback and forth. Lifting

with your legs and not your back will save wearand tear on your body.

3) With a sharp knife, cut off the stalk about 4 to 5inches above the top of the corm.

4) With your hand, rub off any loose dirt and placecorm in a field basket. Covering this field basketwith a few leaves during harvest will keep the sunfrom drying out the corms .

5) Bring the field baskets back to your washing areaand wash off the remaining dirt and deroot thecorm (hint: using the green top of the corm for ahandle). For this first wash you can use stream,irrigation or rain water.

6) Final trim the top to 1 to 2 inches above the cormand trim out any bad spots. If you have cut-outs,these corms are usually no longer good for the freshmarket. Including a cut cormin a whole bag of goodcorms can also infect the lot because they will beexposed to molds and rots arising from the cutpiece.

7) Rinse the corms thoroughly with domestic potablewater. Cutting under water may also help reducetransmission of spores which may be transferredon cleaning knives. If no domestic water contain­ing chlorine is available, dip the corms in a 5 to 10%solution of household bleach - mix in a 1 to 9 ratioof bleach to water. Buying the generic brand willsave you money and works just as well as the brandname kind. Both the chlorinated domestic waterand the bleach-dip act to clean and disinfest the cutcorms, just like iodinedisinfects a cut on your hand.The disinfectant solution must be changed fre­quently for the procedure to be effective.

8) Separate corms for fresh and cut/processed mar­ket and place in a single layeron a wire-rackdryingscreen in a cool, dust free, covered area which hasgood circulation and let dry overnight. Drying thecorms overnight allows the chlorine or bleach tobreakdown so there will be no residueon the corm.It also allows excess moisture on the surface of thecorm to be eliminated and gives the taro some timeto heal its wounds.

9) Carefully pack the dry corms in clean or new bags,or better yet, in cartons, and place on pallets, thisshould keep ants and moisture from getting to thetaros . Do not drop or throw the packed bagsaround, this causes corms to rub together, creatingnew wounds. Make sure your bags are kept in apest-free area and are not moldy because shippingtaro with any kind of pestor insect to the Mainlandmay cause the WHOLE shipment to be rejected­this is a loss of money for you, your fellow farmers,and your shipper. THINK LONG RUN!!

10) Do not allow packed skips to sit in the sun- makesureyour shipper doesn't leave yourtaro in the sunat his warehouse, atthedock or attheairporteither.

corms make peeling and preparing for restaurantuse a lot easier.

2) The second idea is a take off from the papayashippers who are using slogans such as Air FlownFreshness and the drawing of an airplane on theirshipping cartons. With this type of advertisement,it is becoming possible for the shippers to justify totheir customers (your final customers) the extraexpense of air freight. A suggested carton labelsomething along the following lines can be used:

This new feature will give the University's exten­sion personnel an opportunity to share some of theirknowledge on questions concerning the productionand marketing of taros. In this issues' segment, Dr. JeriOoka, the Kauai Branch Station Plant Pathologist, andthe editor provide some insight on the proper methodfor harvest/post-harvest handling of taro. It is felt thatonce everyone adopts a commonand proper techniquefor harvest/post-harvest handling, the quality andsalability of Hawaii-grown taro will increase.

Here ComesRoyal Hawaii Taro!

The rots occurring on taro in transit between is­landsandfrom Hawaii to Mainlandmarketsmay resultin a significant loss of product and reduce shelf life­both problems should concern you greatly as they canaffect your future earnings. These rots develop frompre-existing field infections and infections taking placeduring post-harvest cleaning. The major diseases arecommon soft rotting bacteria or fungi which are able togrow at shipping moisture and temperature condi­tions. The corms need to be handled carefully afterharvest to minimize wounding of the skin and to avoidinfection by these rots.

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11) Inspect the airor sea containeryou are going to shipyour taro in - itmustbe clean! Remember the onlything the California inspectors know is that aninsect is in the taro shipment, but they don't knowor necessarily care how it got there. Californiabasically has a zero-tolerance ruling for pests theyconsider harmful.

12) Ship your taro as soon as possible after harvestingand cleaning. Remember the longer it sits outof theground the less shelf life it will have - conversely,the longer the shelf life and better the appearance,the happier will be your customers. Ship at andstore at 56°F.

MIXED PLATE

WANTED ALIVE: Taro Planting MaterialThere seems to be a lack of taro plantingmaterial in

the State. Anyone supplying huli's on a commercialscale please contact the Tattler and we'll let everyoneknow. WARNING, this may be a good venture for oneor two enterprising farmers, but not for everyone assupply could exceed demand very quickly.

A Definition of QualityIn the first edition of the Tattler we said we were

going to stress QUALITYthroughout this project. Wewould like to offer these definitions of QUALITY forthe fresh and cut markets.

Characteristics of a Fresh-Market Chinese Taro:

1) 2 to 7 pounds in weight2) 2 inches of green stock on top3) Cleaned in chlorinated water, free of cuts and bruis­

ing, root free, disease free, pest free, both internallyand externally

Characteristics of a Cut/Processed-Market ChineseTaro:

.1) Minimum of 8 ounces per piece2) Little or no green stock on top3) Cleaned in chlorinated water, root free, disease free,

pest free, both internally and externally

Thefloor is openfor further discussionandcommentsocontact the Tattler with your comments.

Organically SpeakingAccording to the folks at the Commodities Branch

of the Hawaii Department of Agriculture, there is noofficial definition of organic or organically grown at thepresent time, nor is there a farm certification program.After a national meeting in mid July on the subject,

however, there may just be some legislative work beingdone. In the mean time, if you want to sell your taro inCalifornia as organically grown, you will have to meetCalifornia's definition of organic. A large Californiasupermarket chain (Vons) advertisement says, ''Forproduce to be labeled as 'organic,' no synthetic materi­als can be used in farming or processing 12 monthsprior to planting or, in the case of perennial crops, 12months prior to bud-break. And it must be accompa­nied with a sign stating they are 'grown and processedaccording to California Health and Safety Code26569.11.' "

Packing FactsThe average skip of taro weighs 1500 pounds, 30

bags at 50 pounds each. This means that the bottomtaros are under about 1000pounds or more of pressure.To relieve this stress it has been suggested that we shiptaros in 18 inch-high field boxes. For the processedmarket this makes sense for a number of reasons, onlyone of which has to do with the fact that the taros willbe lessbruised whentheyarrive at the processor. Otherbonusesinclude the fact that palletboxescan be stacked,the boxes are reusable and there will be lots of timesaved because no-one has to fill bags or unpack them.

Theaverageairplanecargo container,an LD3,holds90,30 pound boxes of taro or 2700 lbs. This is 300pounds less than can be packed in an LD3 if the taro isin bags. However, you may be able to offset theincreased per unit cost of shipping because your tarosare now in better shape-think about it and then talk toyour shipper/buyer.

.Demand High for Samoan TaroDespite the fact that a few years ago Samoan taro

was planted on Kauai and it didn't move well, there isstill a great demand on the Mainland for Samoan Pink.This is because there is only a few planes and boats outof the Samoas a month and there is little room for taro.If you have corms for sale the Tattler can put you intouch with a reputable buyer. Contact us.

For more information or if you wish to comment,write:

The Taro ProjectDepartment of Agricultural and Resource EconomicsGilmore Hall 115University of HawaiiHonolulu, HI 96822Attn: Jim Hollyer

Reference to a company or product name does not implyapproval or recommendation of the product by the Collegeof Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, University ofHawaii.