Plant Safety, Horticultural Benefits, and Disease Efficacy of Essential Oils.
CTAHR researchers and extension faculty will work with certified organic producers in Hawaii and four other states (Florida, South Carolina, Georgia and California) to evaluate the effectiveness of organically certified plant essential oils (EOs) on major fruit pathogens such as avocado scab, anthracnose (fungal disease), and powdery mildew in targeted tropical and temperate fruit crops such as avocado, mango, blueberry and peach.
Efforts will look at increasing organic orchard productivity of Hawaii‘s more than $2.4 million avocado and mango industries and offering growers an organic spray program using organic plant EOs. The goal is for crop producers to rapidly adopt the organic practices set forth by the researchers as a result of the data they gathered, thus improving their market competitiveness.
