Kauai to host Hawaii tropical fruit conference in Lihue in October

Kauai will become the center of Hawaii’s tropical fruit industry this fall as the 36th Hawaii International Tropical Fruit Conference comes to Lihue. The three-day gathering is set for Oct. 2-4 at the Outrigger Kauai Beach Resort, with a program built around a simple business question: how to grow more fruit and sell more of it.

The theme, Growing Fruits, Growing Markets, points directly at the pressures facing island agriculture, from what farmers plant to what shows up later at farmers markets and in local supply chains. Hawaii Tropical Fruit Growers is aiming the conference at farmers, educators, orchard managers and others working in tropical fruit production, but the public will also be able to attend the educational sessions, panel discussion, trade show and the annual Famous Fruit Tasting. Early-bird pricing runs through Aug. 15.

The speaker roster leans hard into practical takeaways. Jared Rydelek, the creator of Weird Explorer, will bring the perspective of a fruit hunter and reviewer who turned a fruit obsession into a travel-and-tasting project. Steven Murray Jr. of Murray Family Farms in California is also scheduled to speak, giving Kauai attendees a mainland grower’s view of orchard management and fruit marketing. Danny Rubenstein, who serves on agriculture and export-related boards, will lead a panel focused on expanding markets, a topic that matters on an island where added value can make the difference between a side crop and a viable business.

Umi Martin, the conference chair and a Kekaha mango grower, said the event will include networking breaks and question-and-answer sessions so attendees can talk directly with speakers and experts from industry, government and research. That setup could be especially useful for small farmers and backyard growers looking for crop ideas, pest answers and ways to reach buyers beyond their own neighborhood. Martin also brings a rising political profile to the role after being publicly identified in May as a lifelong Kauai resident, farmer, small business owner and community leader when he announced his run for Kauai County Council.

The trade show will bring together vendors and information booths from state and county agencies, USDA research, the University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience and the Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity. For island agriculture, one of the most urgent topics is the coconut rhinoceros beetle, which the Hawaii Invasive Species Council says threatens agriculture, food security and the broader ecosystem. The beetle was first detected in Hawaii in 2013, and multiple populations were found on Kauai in 2023, prompting state biosecurity officials to keep urging residents not to move mulch or green waste where larvae can breed.

The conference will continue Sunday with farm tours at Moloaa Organicaa and Kauai Food Forest, along with a demonstration of steam irradiation techniques aimed at fighting coconut rhinoceros beetles. That combination of tours, research and market talk ties the conference directly to Kauai’s agricultural future, from what local growers plant to what island consumers may eventually find at market tables.