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3. POTENTIAL FOR SUSTAINED HIGH AGRICULTURAL YIELDS: parcel 055 has good <br />harvests given the slope and soil and growing seasons; but the size of the growing area does not <br />allow HIGH YIELDS since parcel 055 currently has 1.627 acres suitable for crops; the slope <br />and soil is marginal; and the growing season is not "sustained". <br />4. CONTRIBUTION TO THE STATE'S ECONOMIC BASE: this appears to apply to large <br />farms <br />5. ADEQUATE WATER: 1/a inch line (vs. 2 which is commercial grade) <br />6. PROXIMITY TO MARKETS, WATER, POWER: Hilo (50 miles round trip) <br />7. SOIL TYPE on parcel 055 -difficult soil; in the "C" category. See Ookala Series below. <br />Location: <br />This wet, volcanic -ash soil extends across the lowlands of the Hamakua and Hilo <br />coasts on Hawaii island. Historically important for sugarcane production, this soil now <br />supports eucalyptus tree plantations and pasture lands. <br />Climate: <br />Mean annual rainfall is 122 inches (mean January = 11.8 inches, mean July = 9.5 <br />inches). Mean annual temperature is 71 °F (mean January = 68.8°F, mean July = <br />73.5 °F). <br />Water: <br />High water holding capacity. Fast permeability. Soil is moist for majority of the year. <br />Little chance for runoff and erosion, but both increase as slope increases in steepness. <br />Fertility: <br />Naturally infertile (Fertility Class=Infertile Andisols). Low nutrient holding capacity. <br />Often deficient in calcium, magnesium, and potassium. However, with proper nutrient <br />amendment, it can be productive. Surface layers are rich in organic matter. <br />Phosphorous: <br />Very high phosphorus reactivity. Strongly "fixes" phosphorus, making added <br />phosphorus initially unavailable to plants. Requires very high phosphorus additions to <br />compensate. <br />Acidity: <br />Strongly acidic to near neutral (pH = 5.1 - 6.5) Acidity expected to increase if have <br />history of plantation agriculture (i.e. sugarcane, pineapple). May require liming when <br />intensively farmed. <br />Structure: <br />Weak physical structure provides fluffy texture, making cultivation easy, but provides <br />unsuitable conditions for engineering and construction. Engineering and cultivation <br />also unsuitable on steeper slopes. (class C even on level land) <br />Medial over hydrous, amorphic, isohyperthermic Acrudoxic Hydrudands <br />http://2is.ctahr.hawaii.edu/SoilAtlas <br />