HTFG ISSUES ANNUAL APPRECIATION AWARDS AT CONFERENCE Eight recognized for advancement of Hawai’iʻs fruit industry

HTFG ISSUES ANNUAL APPRECIATION AWARDS AT CONFERENCE

Eight recognized for advancement of Hawai’iʻs fruit industry

HILO, HAWAII—The statewide Hawaii Tropical Fruit Growers (HTFG) named the recipients of its annual appreciation awards at the recent 35th Annual Hawaii International Tropical Fruit Conference at the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel.

The annual awards honor individuals who advance—through research, education and practice—the use of tropical fruits to support a sustainable, local food industry. The awards are named to recognize past proponents of the stateʻs fruit industry. Six women and two men make up this yearʻs cohort of honorees.

Lauded with the Dr. Francis Zee Award is Dr. Tracie Matsumoto, research leader for the Tropical Plant Genetic Resources and Disease Research Unit at the Daniel K. Inoyue U.S. Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center (PBARC) in Hilo. The award is named after the late PBARC researcher Dr. Zee, who could be counted on for “top quality advice whether a simple gardening question or solving highly complex horticulture problems.”

Matsumoto leads a team of scientists working on genetic improvement and crop health of sub-tropical and tropical crops in the Pacific. “Tracie has shown passion and commitment to germplasm preservation and is well deserving of this award,” states Ken Love, HTFG executive director.

Focusing on the eradication of parasitic nematodes and insect pests, Dr. Roxana Myers and Cathy Mello of Hawai‘ Island are recipients of the Dr. Roger Vargas Award. The late Dr. Vargas was a 40-year, distinguised research entomologist with the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and best known for instituting the area-wide control of fruit flies in Hawaii after more than 100 years of infestation.

“Roxana has successfully assisted growers in developing physical and chemical treatments to control plant parasitic nematodes for the export market,” notes Love. A plant pathologist, she has identified resistant rootstocks and controlled insect pests such as the sweet potato weevil and most recently the Queensland Longhorned Beetle using entomopathogenic nematodes.”

Mello is recognized for managing plant-parasidic nematodes and invasive insect pests as a research technician at PBARC. “Cathy has devoted her entire career to supporting farmers and protecting local agriculture,” shares Love. “Known for her dedication and strong work ethic, she has been a driving force in developing innovative, science-based methods to manage pest problems in ways that are both effective and sustainable.”

Receiving the Lukas Kambic Award is Dr. Lisa Keith, a research plant pathologist at PBARC. The late Kambic contributed to research on sweet potato, cassava and taro and unusual fruit like nauclea African peach and others. He is remembered as a brilliant and dedicated scientist whose passion for plants, nature and discovery inspired all his colleagues.

Dr. Keith is cited for her lab, greenhouse and field-based techiques to develop early detection tools for emerging pathogens and deliver practical disease management approaches that can be adopted by growers. Love adds that Dr. Keith has been instrumental in identifying many pathogens effecting tropical crops including coffee, guava, longan, macadamia and nativeohia.

Receiving the William K. Trask Chefs Award is Robert Love of Kona. The award is named after the late Chef Trask, a Maui native, who advocated for the use of locally grown food in Hawaii cuisine. He was an early adopter of the farm-to-fork concept utilzing and displaying locally grown fruit at hotels where he served as an executive chef. Trask helped organize the stateʻs first farmer-chef conference in 1992.

A 30-year Hawaii Island, Loveʻs creative adaptations of classic world recipes using local produce and proteins are exemplary, says the HTFG president. For example, he takes a classic French poached pear recipe and substitues pear with locally grownwax jambu, a cousin of  mountain apple, to the delight of diners wanting to taste tropical and usual fruits.

Earning the HTFG Members of the Year Award is Umi Martin, Kauai chapter president, and Nancy Redfeather and Gerry Herbert of Kona. The award lauds members who give their time and enrgy into activities that strengthen HTFG and contribute to the fruit growing community.

Martin stands out for “singlehandedly putting together a strategic plan that ensures a fruitful future for HTFG,” says Love. “As an example, HTFG will now have a fruit of the year to provide plant material through its repositories on each island.” For 2026,the fruit of the year is achachairu, better known as achacha or Bolivian mangosteen.

Longtime organic and diversified farmers Redfeather and Herbert have taken grape research to the next level by propagating a number of grape cultivars that were previously attempted without success.

Geared to farmers, educators, orchard managers and proponents of sustainable agriculture, the multi-day HTFG conference is made possible with the support of the Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity and HTFG members from across the state.

Hawaii Tropical Fruit Growers

Marking its 36th year, HTFG was incorporated in 1989 to promote tropical fruit grown in Hawaii. It is a statewide association of tropical fruit growers, packers, distributors and hobbyists dedicated to tropical fruit research, education, marketing and promotion. HTFG has chapers on all islands, to join and for more info, visit www.HTFG.org.