UH soil service center reopens with free testing for flood-affected farmers

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The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience (CTAHR) is reopening the Agricultural Diagnostic Service Center (ADSC). Local farmers will once again have access to soil and plant testing here in Hawaiʻi at a reasonable cost, instead of sending samples to the U.S. continent.

The center's reopening also allows CTAHR to offer free soil and plant testing through July 21, 2026 to farmers whose land and crops were affected by Kona low flooding in March and April.

Every affected farmer can submit up to three free samples for each of the following services:

• Soil nutrient analysis: To determine if essential minerals were leached.
• Plant tissue nutrient analysis: To assess the current nutrient uptake and health of surviving crops.
• Plant disease diagnostics: To identify plant pathogens/outbreaks that may impact crops following flooding.
• Insect identification: To monitor for shifts in pest populations following the storms.

The ADSC will continue to provide soil and plant testing services at reasonable prices to farmers who were not affected by the floods.

"The reopening is a pivotal moment in CTAHR's mission to support stakeholders and food security across the state," said CTAHR Dean Parwinder Grewal. "Fortunately the timing of the reopening also means we can deliver more support to farmers recovering from the floods. We are providing these tests at no cost for the next three months to help our agricultural partners get back on their feet."

"ADSC has reopened with an improved customer experience, including online payments, rapid turnaround of results, and interpretation of results and recommendations by CTAHR experts," Parwinder said.

Brian Miyamoto, executive director of the Hawaii Farm Bureau, noted, "The reopening of the ADSC, along with three months of free testing, comes at a crucial time and helps farmers move forward with recovery and replanting. CTAHR is truly stepping up for our farmers, and we appreciate their leadership and commitment to supporting Hawaiʻi's agricultural community during this critical time."

CTAHR is working to further expand its services to include seed testing, heavy metal testing, animal health diagnostics and food nutrient content analysis for food product labeling. ADSC is also expanding its seed production capacity and will add clean seedling production, which are young plants that are free from germs or disease.

Order soil, plant tests online

Farmers can order tests, find sampling instructions, and a list of CTAHR facilities on Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi Island, Maui, Molokaʻi and Kauaʻi accepting samples at the ADSC website.

Temporary in-person collection site until July 21, 2026

To increase accessibility for Oʻahu's heavily affected north shore community, a temporary collection site has been set up at Twin Bridge Farms in Waialua:

• Soil and plant samples can be dropped off at Twin Bridge on Mondays between 8 a.m and noon
• Soil samples can also be dropped off on Thursdays between 8 a.m. and noon.
• Farmers should call CTAHR at (808) 453-6050 or [email protected] to confirm they are dropping off samples at Twin Bridge Farms.

Permanent collection sites

Drop off sites for samples on Oʻahu are:

• The Urban Garden Center in Pearl City on Mondays from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., 955 Kamehameha Hwy., behind the Home Depot.
• UH Mānoa's Sherman Lab, room 115, weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., 1910 East-West Rd., Honolulu HI 96822.
  • Farmers should call (808) 956-5437 or [email protected] to confirm they plan to drop off samples.

Visit the ADSC website for a complete list of drop off locations, including the neighbor islands.

Photo captions:

ADSC 1: The Agricultural Diagnostic Service (ADSC) has reopened to serve Hawaiʻi's ag community with modern services.

ADSC 4: CTAHR is working to add heavy metal testing, animal health diagnostics, and food nutrient content analysis for food product labeling.