ABSTRACT
Much of the research on taro and sweet potato production at the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawaii, is supported by Grant No. 12–14-5001–121, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture under Public Law 89–808, Section 406 (The Food for Peace Act). One of the few on-going research programs supported under the Food for Peace Act, the comprehensive project was initiated in 1975 and is now completing its third year. The crops studied are taro and sweet potato.
The project is currently supporting systems research activities, either partially or wholly, in the following areas of emphasis:
Bibliographic services
Production systems analysis and modeling
Production of taro
Production of stable food forms from taro
Crop and stored food protection
Economic and marketing analysis
Production of sweet potatoes
In addition, the State of Hawaii is funding a separate project on the development of mechanical harvesting equipment for paddy taro, and a substantial research effort in taro diseases is being supported by a CSRS/USDA special grant under PL 89–106.
In this paper, a summary of research activities on taro is given to illustrate the general approach 4in developing and managing a comprehensive research program on tropical root crops.
