american samoa - University of Hawaii at Manoa Botany Department

The availability of new, blight-resistant cultivars of taro could enable future taro production inthe Taufusi Marsh. A project manager from the American Samoa Coastal ManagementProgram (ASCMP) would need to coordinate project tasks in cooperation with the AmericanSamoa Department of Agriculture and/or the Ministry of Agriculture in Western Samoa toobtain new varieties of taro that are resistant to the lega (taro blight).When obtained, a sample of such plants would be provided by the American Samoa CMP torepresentatives of families holding titles to lands within the marsh. The intent of this approachwould be to:• encourage family efforts to re-establish new varieties of wetland taro within the marsh, and• enable Alao residents to test the interest of Tutuila residents to purchase and consume thesenew varieties of taro.Implementation of this project would initially require the excavation of fill material in the westportion of Taufusi Marsh to a minimum soil depth of about one to two feet. Solid wastematerial and vegetative material contained in the remaining soil material will need to beremoved from the site. In terms of soil preparation, the production of talo toto i le vai (wetlandtaro) will require manual and/or mechanical tilling of the soil and the possible application ofsome limited nutrients to the soil.Taro cuttings from disease-free propagating material would be used to establish the taro. Thecuttings are part of a taro plant stem about 12 to 18 inches long that is attached to a 2 to 3-inchsection of the corm. Such cuttings would ideally be obtained from the ASG Department ofAgriculture or Samoa Ministry of Agriculture in Apia. Before planting, selected taro cuttingswould be carefully inspected, washed with potable water, soaked in a 10 percent bleachsolution for 30 seconds, and stored in a dry, cool, and well-ventilated area for 3 to 5 daysbefore planting.Comparative Benefits and ImpactsPPC’s evaluation of two alternate restoration and enhancement strategies is summarized inTable 3-4. One of these opportunities, Options 2, would achieve greater benefits to naturalresources and enhance opportunities for other potential wetland functions.An attempt to restore native marsh vegetation (Option 1) would require the planting of nativemarsh plants such as utuutu (water chestnut), vao tuaniu (marsh fern), and saato (swamp fern).None of these marsh plants were found in the marsh in November 1999 and probably do notexist there. However, cuttings could be obtained by the ASCC Land Grant Program andplanted by program staff.The prospect of community support for this restoration opportunity may be limited. At leastfour families in Alao Village hold titles to the lands comprising Taufusi Marsh (Puaauli, 2000).One or more families continue to be using the east portion of the wetland for the commercialproduction of Chinese cabbage that generates some household income.Wetland taro production would generate more desirable project benefits. Taro productionwould primarily enhance subsistence and commercial agricultural production, which isconsistent with other ongoing uses of the wetland. At the same time, taro production wouldsecondarily enhance future stormwater detention and generate some increased groundwaterrecharge to the basal aquifer.American Samoa Wetland/Stream Restoration and Enhancement PlanFebruary 2001, Alao Wetland, Page 3-11