CEO | Agriculture & Natural Resources
Professionals working in Agriculture & Natural Resources division take a close look
at the needs of local farmers, consumers and the plants and animals living on Guam.
Agriculture professionals conduct variety trials to find the fruit and vegetable plants
most suitable to the soils and climate of Guam. They meet with farmers to help them
solve the issues of growing crops in a tropical climate.
Extension entomologists assist farmers in how to control crop pests as well as protecting
native plants and animals from accidentally introduced invasive species such as the
coconut rhinoceros beetle.
Extension plant pathologists look at the disease organisms affecting crops and other
island plants including ironwood trees.
Horticulture professionals assist backyard farmers and community gardeners in starting
and maintaining vegetable gardens and food forests.
In 2018, Cooperative Extension & Outreach established the annual agriculture survey
of production outcomes, revenues, capital investments and needs for Guam farmers.
This information is the foundation for development of Extension education efforts
for all producers.
The Farmer Focus Project, launched in 2021, is working to raise awareness about farmer stress and mental health in Guam and the rest of Micronesia, develop easily accessible resources for agriculture communities in the Pacific region, and improve the overall well-being of those in our agricultural community.
The coconut rhinoceros beetle (CRB), Oryctes rhinoceros, has been attacking coconut trees on Guam since it was first discovered on the island in 2007 and has proven to be voracious and tenacious. The coconut rhinoceros beetle, is a major pest of coconut palm, oil palm and other palm species. Palms are damaged when adult beetles bore into the crowns of palms to feed on sap. Tree mortality occurs when beetles destroy the growing tip (meristem). Immature beetles (grubs) do no damage. They feed on dead, decaying vegetation in breeding sites. Preferred breeding sites are dead, standing coconut stems, and piles of decaying vegetation such those left behind by typhoons or after replanting of oil palm plantations.
The links below provide more information regarding the CRB on Guam.
Resource | Author | Link | Publication Date |
---|---|---|---|
Behavior & Biology of the Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle | Ian Iriarte, Roland Quitugua, Olympia Terral, Aubrey Moore, Mariana Sanders | Download Brochure | April 2017 |
The Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle Problem on Guam: Past, Present and Future |
Dr. Aubrey Moore | View Paper | |
A New Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle Biotype Threatens Coconut and Oil Palms in Southeast Asia and the Pacific | Dr. Aubrey Moore | View Paper | July 2016 |
Life Cycle of the Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle | Download Poster | ||
Library of CRB scientific literature | View Library | ||
Island Images: Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle |
Joint Region Marianas | View Video | April 2014 |
Update on the Guam Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle Situation for the Guam Invasive Species Council |
Dr. Aubrey Moore | View Presentation | November 2015/March 2016 |
Native plants are important to the ecosystems of Guam for many reasons. They provide food and habitat for wildlife; medicine, food, and cultural resources for people; reduce contamination of reefs, rivers, and aquifers; influence the soil in ways non-native plants cannot; and some plants are not found anywhere else in the world. The links below take you to a PDF with information about the individual plants.
In May 2016, Extension and Outreach faculty member Dr. Robert Schlub in collaboration with the director of the Louisiana State Extension Plant Diagnostic Center, Dr. Raghuwinder Singh conducted a four-day diagnostic training workshop in an effort to strengthen the diagnostic capabilities of Agriculture Professionals in the region. Over the course of the training, agricultural professionals from Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands received classroom instruction, which was reinforced with plant disease specimen collection field trips and laboratory exercises. The training emphasized diagnoses based on field symptoms and those revealed through the use of a hand-lens.
Collecting Disease and Insect Pest Samples
Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle (CRB)
Sample Photography - Diagnostics
Tobacco Screen Bacteria - Diagnostics
Introduction to Foliar Fungal Workshop
Introduction to Foliar Pathogens
Life Cycle of Cercospora and Corynespora
Collecting, Processing and Storing Field Samples
Why Correct ID is Essential for Control
How to Collect and Send Samples Off-Island for ID
Prevalent Fungal Leaf Pathogens and Their Diseases
Molecular Tools in Fungal Detection
Index of Plant Diseases in Guam
Drop-off location: Agriculture & Life Sciences Building, Room 105.
Drop-off hours: Monday-Friday 8:30AM-3:30PM
Sample turnaround time: 48 hours
Cost: Free
Contact: Aubrey Moore | (671) 735-2086 | aubreymoore@triton.uog.edu
Plant Tissue analysis from outside of Guam will be charged an additional 100% for the routine plant analysis, and an additional 50% for all other tests. Fees charged for additional analysis not listed below, will be at the discretion of the CNAS Soil Scientist, with the approval of the Director /Associate Director for the Western Pacific Tropical Research Center.
Fees can be paid at the Western Pacific Tropical Research Center’s office, Room 206E, in the Agriculture & Life Sciences Building on the UOG campus. All fees must be paid to pick up analysis.
Drop-off location: Agriculture & Life Sciences Building, Room 216.
Drop-off hours: Monday-Friday 8:30AM-3:30PM
Sample turnaround time: Four to seven work days. An additional rush fee of 50% will be charged for analyses
required within 4 working days.
Cost:
Potassium, calcium, magnesium, zinc, iron, manganese, copper: $20.00 per element / per sample
Aluminum: $30.00 / per sample
Available phosphorus: $20.00 / per sample
Total % nitrogen: $20.00 / per sample
Total % carbon: $20.00 / per sample
Contact: Clancy Iyekar, (671) 735-2143 | soillab@triton.uog.edu
Samples for soil analysis from outside of Guam will be charged an additional 100% for the routine soil analysis, and an additional 50% for all other tests. Fees charged for additional analysis not listed below, will be at the discretion of the CNAS Soil Scientist, with the approval of the Director /Associate Director for the Western Pacific Tropical Research Center.
Fees can be paid at the Western Pacific Tropical Research Center’s office, Room 206E, in the Agriculture & Life Sciences Building on the UOG campus. All fees must be paid to pick up analysis.
For off-island clients in the region, contact the lab for a Soil Import Permit and soil shipping stickers.
Telephone: (671) 735-2143/2134
Email: soillab@triton.uog.edu
Drop-off location: Agriculture & Life Sciences Building, Room 216.
Drop-off hours: Monday-Friday 8:30AM-3:30PM
Sample turnaround time: Four to seven work days. An additional rush fee of 50% will be charged for analyses required within 4 working
days.
Cost: As listed
Routine Analysis
pH (water), % organic matter (O.M.), available phosphorus, exchangeable potassium,
calcium, and magnesium: $40.00 / per sample
Special Analysis
pH: $5.00 / per sample
% Organic matter: $20.00 / per sample
Total % nitrogen, total % carbon, zinc, iron, manganese, copper: $20.00 per element / per sample
Nitrate: $25.00 / per sample
Phosphate: $25.00 / per sample
Electrical conductivity for soluble salts: $20.00 / per sample
Particle-size analysis (hydrometer method): $20.00 / per sample
Contact: Clancy Iyekar | (671) 735-2143 | soillab@triton.uog.edu
Unibetsedȧt Guåhan
UOG Station
Mangilao, Guam 96913
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The University of Guam is a U.S. Land Grant and Sea Grant Institution accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission. UOG is an equal opportunity provider and employer committed to diversity, equity and inclusion through island wisdom values of inadahi yan inagofli'e: respect, compassion, and community.