Wednesday, August 10, 2016

SearchResearch Challenge (8/10/16): Pineapples and radomes in Hawaiʻi?


Technically, I'm on vacation... 

... but that just means I'm in an interesting location with even MORE questions that keep popping up!  

This week I'm on Oahu, the "main" island in the Hawaiian archipelago.  It's the island where Honolulu (the capital) is located, along with most of the ukuleles, dancers, and novelty items for sale. 

But I'm up on the North Shore for vacation--the home of the Banzai Pipeline, Jack Johnson, Waimea Bay, and large open areas of forested mountains, and open shorelines.  

As I've been traveling around up here, I've noticed a couple of things that I hope the SRS Regulars can help out with.  Here's what's puzzling me this week... 

1. Driving to the North Shore we passed through fields of pineapples.  Historically, pineapples (and sugar cane) have been the mainstays of Hawaiian agricultural exports.  But the pineapple fields seem... small to me.  How many acres of pineapple are planted on Oahu these days? (This might sound similar to last week's Challenge, but no fancy programming needed...)  
2.  I know there are many different kinds of pineapples, but which variety is the most commonly planted on Oahu?  (Here's my closeup photo of a pineapple from central Oahu. Yeah, it's pretty prickly in there--you don't want a job picking pineapples!)  


3.  I drove past this strange collection of what look like radomes peeking out over the hilltops.  Can you figure out what's going on here?  (This is at 21.685451, -158.009686) 


4.  (Extra credit)  This radome site is clearly very modern, but this isn't the first radar installation near this location.  There was  a historically very famous site near here.  Can you figure out what that radar site was and why it's so famous? 

As always, tell us how you figured them out.  

I'll be sending aloha your way this week.  

Search on! 


14 comments:

  1. Who called it pinneyapplegrapplefruit ? Or something like that. Was it Lucille Ball ?

    [oahu pineapple production]

    [http://hortsci.ashspublications.org/content/47/10/1390.full]
    As the Hawaii canneries closed, the industry gradually shifted to the production of fresh pineapples. During that transition, the pineapple breeding program of the Pineapple Research Institute of Hawaii produced the MD-2 pineapple cultivar, now the world’s pre-eminent fresh fruit cultivar
    http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/oc/freepubs/pdf/f_n-7.pdf says "In Hawaii, strain selections from field populations of 'Smooth Cayenne' are grown almost exclusively."

    Strangely the Dole site is useless.

    Hawaii Dept Agriculture has what we want: http://hdoa.hawaii.gov/blog/main/nrsalus2015/ we see that indeed in 2015, the pineapple production on Oahu at 3414 acres. about 3000 of this is Dole and the rest a small producer.

    [Radar installations oahu]

    Wikipedia at the top of the list tells us the old unit was the Opana Radar Site. "Today, a modern Navy telecommunications station occupies the top of the Opana Hill adjacent to the site. The station is a relay for the Department of State's Diplomatic Telecommunications Service.[6] The former site is a National Historic Landmark and IEEE Milestone.[2][3][4][7] Since the 1941 radar was a mobile unit, there is no physical evidence of the historic unit at the site"

    Staff there detected the incoming mystery planes at 7am on Dec 7th 1941. They were not believed and the rest is history.

    Happy Hols...jon

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  2. 2nd half…
    hospitality
    a symbol of their wealth
    $$ valley connection - Lanai is known as the "Pineapple Island" $$
    Lanai tour
    "Types of Pineapples
    The Department of Agriculture at Purdue University lists 37 varieties -- or cultivars -- of pineapples. However, in the world of international trade, the cultivars are grouped into four main classes: Smooth Cayenne, Red Spanish, Queen and Abacaxi. The groups vary according to the pineapple's size, commercial availability and sweetness. Smooth Cayenne, the predominant pineapple grown in Hawaii and the type most likely found in American supermarkets, grows to be the largest, at 4 to 10 pounds. It has an orange rind and yellow flesh, and is known for its juiciness and slightly acid flavor. Abacaxi pineapples are known for their sweetness and resistance to disease. Its fruit can weigh 2 to 11 pounds. Many consider Abacaxi to be the most delicious pineapple, but it is too tender for commercial handling. Red Spanish is orange-red, weighs 3 to 6 pounds and is the major pineapple grown in the Caribbean. Queen is grown mostly in South Africa and Australia."

    SFGate description
    fruta con chile y limón - el enfoque de México a la piña caliente, picante
    tajin pineapple_turnovers

    ReplyDelete
  3. Good day, Dr. Russell and everyone.

    [oahu anana facts]

    A skilled planter can plant about 10,000 fruits a day.

    [oahu anana pineapple acres]

    WORLD AND UNITED STATES PINEAPPLE Is from 2004 but links to good sources
    USDA

    [oahu pineapple acres planted 2015]

    What happened to over 200,000 acres of former sugar and pineapple fields. Links to Hawai'i Department of Agriculture baseline 2015

    2015 baseline; pdf

    [Hawaii department of agriculture] and [hawaii pineapple planted acres usda] Search Tools Past year [Hawaii intext:pineapple planted acres usda]

    1. Driving to the North Shore we passed through fields of pineapples. Historically, pineapples (and sugar cane) have been the mainstays of Hawaiian agricultural exports. But the pineapple fields seem... small to me. How many acres of pineapple are planted on Oahu these days?
    A: Oahu has roughly 3,500 acres. Hawaii crop Summary 2015 photo


    For Q2:

    [variety site:doleplantation.com]

    [Oahu pineapple most common variety]

    https://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/pineapple.html#Varieties No hummingbirds allowed

    [Oahu pineapple facts]

    http://www.to-hawaii.com/agriculture/pineapple.php
    The fruit was first called “anana,” a Caribbean word for “excellent fruit.” Hawaiians called it “halakahiki,” which means “foreign fruit.”

    There are about 14,000 Hawaiian plants in the maze.

    The maze

    2. I know there are many different kinds of pineapples, but which variety is the most commonly planted on Oahu? (Here's my closeup photo of a pineapple from central Oahu. Yeah, it's pretty prickly in there--you don't want a job picking pineapples!)
    A: No Yet.


    For Q3 Searched by image. Found site in Japanese (Opana Radar]

    http://earthjp.net/mercury/1309230001.html site gives good information that needs verification

    [Opana Radar] [opana hill telecommunications station]

    Opana Radar Site
    Kahuku, Hawaii (HI), US


    The Opana Radar Site on the Hawaiian Island of Oahu marks the first operational use of radar by the United States in wartime

    How we almost knew about the Pearl Harbor attack before it happened.

    3. I drove past this strange collection of what look like radomes peeking out over the hilltops. Can you figure out what's going on here? (This is at 21.685451, -158.009686)
    A: Navy telecommunications station


    4. (Extra credit) This radome site is clearly very modern, but this isn't the first radar installation near this location. There was a historically very famous site near here. Can you figure out what that radar site was and why it's so famous?

    With searches for Q3 found Answer for Q4. Opana Radar was important on WWII. NPS.GOV mentions "The missed opportunity to correctly identify the incoming Japanese air attack is one of the great "what might have beens" of military history. Today, a modern Navy telecommunications station occupies the top of the Opana Hill adjacent to the Opana Radar Site."

    Enjoy vacation, Dr. Russell!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. [Oahu most planted pineapple variety]

      There are many named clones, classed in four or five groups including ‘Cayenne’, ‘Spanish’, ‘Queen’, and ‘Pernambuco’ also interesting:[vegetatively propagated]

      Previous link mentions Captain John Kidwell selected the Smooth Cayenne in the 1880s. (Hawaii travel guide)

      Tried searching [Variedad cultivapa piña Oahu] Found information about [pineapple research institute] there searched for Oahu

      History and Smooth Cayenne is extensively cultivated in Hawaii

      Also while reading some links found this exclusive Hawaii variety

      Sugarloaf , white pineapple Have you tried it, Dr. Russell?

      SRS, also a good moment to re-read previous Hawaii Challenge!

      Delete
    2. [No hummingbirs hawaii]and also [ hummingbirds hawaii]

      Pollination is a bad word in the world of pineapples. And Hummingbirs are

      Could hummingbirds be introduced to the Hawaiian Islands?

      Another article says one comment that Maui has hummingbirds but not confirmation.

      Delete
    3. Hello Dr. Russell, John and Remmij. I was thinking the hummingbird pollination theory. I think maybe there's another reason because for example, Mexico produces pineapple and has hummingbird. Also, tried to SearchResearch a pollinated pineapple, nothing yet. Maybe Remmij can find one and we can see the geo-domes with flowers.

      If possible, can you ask in Hawaii about these birds, Dr. Russell? Thank you

      Delete
    4. Ramón… was just headed out for a shave ice w/ li hing mui & some golf time, 6 AM tee — hope this helps
      about ½ way down this page… flower stalk, related to "Spanish Moss" - used [pineapple pollination fruit]
      the SERP
      kind of a neat way to look over the site… go west, down the coast a bit to the radar installation… if you are Goo Earth inclined. (don't see many "barren zones" but they are probably there)
      3D Earth

      island treat
      Kakigōri source
      It's Five O' Clock Somewhere
      Alan & Jimmy
      another popular island blossom - can make rogue hiking hazardous
      a remote time/virtual non-reality
      Hanauma Bay, Oahu
      Dan isn't alone making the trip over from the Bay area… where it is currently 63° & cloudy

      Delete
    5. Hi Remmij! I need to Google your ice! In any case thanks for the links, I will read them and hope you having great time. How good are you in golf? I just played once, years ago. I also wish Dr. Russell enjoying Hawaii, surfing with Piña Colada and white pineapples. Also sometime ago read about special drink only available there, sadly don't remember name.

      [colibrí polinización piñas]

      Pollinization just with some hummingbirds

      History of Pineapple; in Spanish

      [Cam Metabolismo]

      CAM significa "Metabolismo Ácido de las Crasuláceas". This helps to save water

      [xeriscapes] From Wikipedia: Xeriscaping acuñada por la combinación de xeros (en griego = "seco") con el inglés de landscape (Paisaje)

      [hummingbird pollination pineapple]

      vestigial seeds,...Pineapples are pollinated by hummingbirds and are self-sterile, meaning
      they cannot produce seeds if they pollinate themselves (self-pollination)...


      The most commonly visited plants by hummingbirds

      Hummingbirds would help extinction of rare native Hawaiian birds

      Also learned that Hummingbirds flowers have more concentrated nectar and rich in sucrose

      Delete
  4. I googled "pineapple acreage oahu site:.gov" and found the Hawaiian Dept. of Agriculture's 2015 Statewide Baseline Land Use Study, which contained the information that 3,414 acres of land on Oahu are used for pineapple cultivation. I googled "cultivar pineapple Hawaii" and saw a link to the HortSci article, "Hawaii Pineapple: The Rise and Fall of an Industry." and read that "With the success of ‘MD-2’ assured, FDMP began to rapidly convert their Hawaii plantation to ‘MD-2’ by importing planting material from Costa Rica to Hawaii in 2001. The Hawaii division shipped fresh and fresh-cut fruit to the U.S. West Coast until FDMP abruptly closed the plantation in 2007. The Dole division in Hawaii introduced a low-acid pineapple in early 2000 but the quality was poor and it was replaced as quickly as possible with a Dole selection of ‘MD-2’ named MG3."

    ReplyDelete