Kava Botany SEX!

[Kojo Douglas]

Kava propagates in the wild through vegetative reproduction, the same as willow trees. Stalks which fall on moist ground take root naturally, so it's theoretically possible to plant wichmannii and wait a few thousand years for noble mutations to show up. Much more likely is the accepted scenario where man repeatedly selects the most drinkable mutations and plants them, a process that is faster but still quite slow.

Yup. This.

 

[HeadHodge]

To reduce the life cycle, it seems that since we know what we are looking for, that it would be possible to plant a bunch of wichmannii and let it grow long enough to test it, and toss the undesirable ones, and repeat with the good ones. I don't know why you would have to let them grow to maturity to figure out which ones to keep and which ones to toss.

 

[avahZ]

Just find a cold hardy mutation of any type of kava and I would be a happy camper!

 

[verticity]

Kava should take an example from tumbleweeds. It should tumble around the arid high desert until it finds a suitable home, stuck in the undercarriage of people's cars. What the hell am I talking about?

 

[verticity]

@Gourmet Hawaiian Kava had a picture of a mutated kava plant in his calendar. It had spots on it or something.

 

[verticity]

Just find a cold hardy mutation of any type of kava and I would be a happy camper!

Any noble type, that is. I understand Isa is hardier than noble varieties. Why can't there be a hardy noble variety? What makes nobles so hard to grow?

 

[Gourmet Hawaiian Kava]

Any noble type, that is. I understand Isa is hardier than noble varieties. Why can't there be a hardy noble variety? What makes nobles so hard to grow?

Pest and other problems. I remember in the 80ies when we did not have a lot of these pests and disease, the 'Awa was easy to grow but now you have to plan and keep an eye on your 'Awa. There was a fungus called "Phoma" and it decimated some of the wild 'Awa patches in the gulches in Hamakua. We never had a problem with this fungus till later, we think it might have had something to do with the sudden grown in kava farms at the time. These kava farms planted there kava as a mono crop very close to each other so the Phoma fungus spread very easy and fast. The Isa is resistant to these problems and that is why it grows so well.
Aloha.

Chris

 

[Zac Imiola (Herbalist)]

Awesome response thanks Chris

 

[sɥɐʞɐs]

Kava is said to have mild anti-fungal properties, I wonder if these properties are more pronounced in Tudei cultivars.
If so, it would explain why Isa is more resistant to the Phoma fungus while growing.
It could also imply that the Flavokavains themselves and/or DHM are the anti-fungal constituents.

 

[Gourmet Hawaiian Kava]

Kava is said to have mild anti-fungal properties, I wonder if these properties are more pronounced in Tudei cultivars.
If so, it would explain why Isa is more resistant to the Phoma fungus while growing.
It could also imply that the Flavokavains themselves and/or DHM are the anti-fungal constituents.

You may be right, the Phoma fungus will attack the leaves and stalks, the Hawaiian 'Awa has a small amount of DHK and DHM in the leaves, about 1.5% but with Isa they are about 5%, you can actually take one of the Isa leaves and crush it up and smell the potency, I use it to help identify the Isa over the Hawaiian kava as well as a few other ways to identify the kava. Aloha.

Chris

 

[Poivrier]

Chris, have you ever observed different flowers on your plants ? I don't remember what is the problem: only male flowers appearing or the contrary, incompatibility etc...
It would be a fascinating challenge to try to hand pollinate or to try an in vitro fecundation for the sake of kava's survival !