Francis Zee 1, Lisa Keith 1, Amy Strauss 1, Claire Arakawa 1, Tristan Foote 1, Kim Hummer 2, Barbara Reed 2, Nahla Bassil 2, Stuart T. Nakamoto 3, Randall Hamasaki 3, Milton Yamasaki 3, Andrew Kawabata 3, Bob Durst 4, Allan K. Ikawa 5, Jodi Silva 5, Ken Love 6, Yongjian Chang 7

SCRI Project Goals Clonal propagation and production protocols Establish molecular fingerprinting and Cryopreservation methodology Conduct fruit nutrient analyses Determine host-pathogen interactions

SCRI Project Goals Produce ohelo as an ornamental from flask to nursery to market Prepare economic feasibility analyses of ohelo as ornamental potted plant Provide extension and outreach Develop seed based production protocols Initiate value added products and culinary research

Pélé Goddess of Fire Destroyed >100 structures since 1983 Added >70 acres to the SE coast

SpeciesHeightFruit Vaccinium reticulatum SmithLowYellow, red, purple, blue Vaccinium calycinum SmithTallRed, globose Vaccinium × pahalae SkottsbergMidRed, egg shape Vaccinium dentatum SmithlowRed, globe

Attractive red and green foliage

Attractive flowers

Cultivated for edible fruits

Ōhelo plants around the Volcano Area

Goals Reduce wild gathering of ōhelo for commercial uses. Reduce traffic and the spread of invasive weeds Provide a sustainable (supply) of berries for culinary and value added product research (demand). Two hand- full of berries to start

Dr. Francis Zee and Vaccinium reticulatum seedlings

Ohelo Cultivar Releases 2009 Kilauea Nene Red Button

New Selections

Propagation Seed, Cuttings, Tissue Culture Identification Utilization Fruit nutrient analysis Culinary uses

Ōhelo PROPAGATION Seed Cuttings Tissue Culture Cold storage/ Cryogenics

Ohelo from seeds …

… to seed Ohelo seeds

Ōhelo seed storage and germination Barbara Reed USDA-ARS

Clonal Propagation of ōhelo

Cold Storage in semipermeable bags for months Red Button Kilauea Nene Barbara Reed USDA-ARS

Cold Storage of Shoot Cultures Barbara Reed USDA-ARS

Red Button cryopreserved with encapsulation dehydration. S = sucrose treatment, D = dehydration, the others were exposed to liquid nitrogen Barbara Reed USDA-ARS

Cryopreservation of ōhelo clones Barbara Reed USDA-ARS

Field and Nursery management Produced 50 lb of ōhelo berry for R&D May to July lbs from potted ohelo plants 17.2 lbs from field planting NO9-16 clones

A sustainable source of ōhelo seeds for germplasm requests

Six inch ohelo seedlings for BIAN plant sale USDA/ARS display and information table NO6-7 Bonsai

Holiday foliage plant Landscape plant Fruit production Culinary product development

Ōhelo Identification by Molecular Markers Cultivar – Genetic Diversity assessment

Microsatellite marker-based fingerprints for three important selections Nene Kilaua Red Button Tested 23 blueberry (V. corymbosum) SSRs NA741: an example of one SSR that differentiates between 3 selections

SelectionsNA398CA794NA172VCC_I2CA421NA741NA1040NA800 Nene225, , , , , , , 200, 208 Kilauea217, , , , , , , 202, 206 Red Button213, , , , , , , , 200 Microsatellite marker-based fingerprints for three important selections Eight SSRs reliably distinguish between these selections

Dendrogram based on microsatellite analysis using six primer pairs.

Section Myrtillus SSRs for 10 species in section Myrtillus Hawaiian taxa more recently derived Russian V. praestans grouped together Genetically identical V. myrtillus and from Kalmiopsis Wilderness, OR.

Germplasm conservation Sustainable germplasm resource for research Ornamental potted plants Alternate source from wild harvest Sustainable and reliable source of berry for culinary and value added product uses.

Diseases of Ōhelo Pucciniastrum vaccini Rust Calonectria sp. Leaf spots and sudden collapse - Calonectria sp. Powdery Mildew Microsphaera sp. 30 days after inoculation

Fruit Analysis Summary Anthocyanins Similar to cranberry, but v. low peonidin Rich source of phenolics Acids Similar profile to cranberry, but loweramounts Sugar profile Extremely Good source of PACs Especially V. calycinum

Pro Anthocyanadins SpeciesDMAC (mg-A2 equiv/100g) V. macrocarpon 125 V. reticulatum V. calycinum x as much!

Ōhelo - Utilization Culinary recipes Ohelo Berry and Horseradish Pot Roast Sweettart Ohelo-Berry Compote Foie Gras with Ohelo Berries Goat Cheese and Ohelo Berry Bruschetta Grilled Lime Tequila Chicken with Ohelo Berry and Pineapple Sauce Ohelo and Oatmeal Pie Ohelo glazed Duck Ohelo creamed cheese pie

SCRI Project Goals Clonal propagation and production protocols Establish molecular fingerprinting Cryopreservation methodology Conduct fruit nutrient analyses Determine host-pathogen interactions

SCRI Project Goals Produce ohelo as an ornamental from flask to nursery to market Prepare economic feasibility analyses of ohelo as ornamental potted plant Provide extension and outreach Develop seed based production protocols Initiate value added products and culinary research SUCCESS!

Cooperators 1 U.S. Dept. Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service (USDA, ARS) Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center (PBARC) P.O. Box 4487, Hilo, Hawaii 96720; 2 USDA ARS National Clonal Germplasm Repository (NCGR), Peoria Road, Corvallis, Oregon, ; 3 University of Hawaii, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (UH, CTAHR), 1955East-West Rd. AgSci 314B,.Honolulu, HI 96822; 4 Linus Pauling Institute, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR ; 5 Research & Development, Big Island Candies, Hilo, HI; 6 Hawaii Tropical Fruit Grower Association, President and Agriculture Chair of the American Culinary Federation chapter – Kona Kohala Chefs Association, Kona, HI; 7 North American Plants LLC, McMinnville, OR

Thank you to everyone!