Maui Gold Pineapple leads the way: Transforming agriculture with soil innovation and reef-safe practices

An acre of Maui Gold Pineapple’s farm is the location of a new test plot for biological soil amendment, organic liquid filled with nutrients and microbes created by SoilThrive by Environmental Solutions Maui.

Sitting on a hillside plantation previously run by Maui Land and Pineapple Company, Maui Gold Pineapple (Hāliʻimaile Pineapple Company), its successor, leased property years ago that had a long history of extensive pesticide and fertilizer use impacting water wells and coastal waters through runoff. While terrace blocks are carved out to prevent runoff, this belies the fact that chemical runoff continues to impact Maui’s shores.

Maui Gold Director of Agriculture Darren Strand is looking to change that.

“As stewards of the land, we have always recognized the importance of protecting our coastal ecosystems,” said Strand. “Continuing to implement more reef-friendly practices at Maui Gold is one way to show our commitment to sustainability and responsible land management.”

In addition to a test plot using organic soil amendment, plastic bed covers have transitioned to biodegradable materials, and the irrigation and drip tape is reused or removed from the field and goes to a place on continent for recycling, according to Strand.

“Darren [Strand] is wonderfully open minded,” said SoilThrive partner Charlotte O’Brien. “He’s allowing us to do something most people would not.”

For the test plot, local small business SoilThrive created a plant-available compost extract whose methodology was pioneered in Dr. Elaine Ingham’s “Soil Food Web Approach.” Although once “booed off stage” for her ideas years ago, Ingham has inspired many including the partners of SoilThrive to enact her soil regeneration method.

The method involves young, vibrant compost and vermicompost washed in water and beaten at such high pressure that organisms are effectively “pulled” from the water. The microbes are then filtered into water to yield a rich liquid that can be sprayed on crops and soil. O’Brien says that SoilThrive uses a minuscule amount of liquid kelp, but other than that, the green waste and labor is sourced on Maui.

Launch day of the test plot was hosted by Maui Gold and Maui Nui Marine Resource Council at the pineapple farm in Hāliʻimaile on Wednesday, May 8. It was joined by several supporters as well as local and state government officials.

Partners of SoilThrive were onsite spraying, demonstrating and leading the conversation on how their liquid biological amendment mixture works.

The pineapples “drink” microbes from the bottom of the pineapple leaf, which is the root, and from around the soil, said O’Brien on launch day. “Once the microbe community gets exposed, you don’t need to keep feeding it,” she added.

SoilThrive partner Robin Leimomi Proctor suggested a major benefit to its liquid biological amendment is improving water retention of the soil for reducing runoff.

“For every 1% organic matter that you increase the soil, the soil holds between 20,000 to 38,000 gallons of water per acre mycorrhizal fungi,” Proctor said. “The other benefit of what they call mycorrhizal fungi is that they feed the plant and the plant feeds them. They’re amazingly intelligent.”

SoilThrive intends to collect soil and crop samples of the pineapple rows being staged on Maui Gold Pineapple’s plot, comprising 19 types of soil testing and crop monitoring to be assessed during the pilot program. The first round of soil and tissue samples are being collected and sent to Regen Ag Lab, according to O’Brien, who hopes to see higher levels of fungal biomass that facilitate water retention. Ultimately, the tests could help determine the possibility of phasing out chemical-based fertilizers in landscaping, farming and other agricultural pursuits on Maui.

For Maui Gold, deeming to have the “sweetest pineapples in the world,” the measure of success of the pilot program will take into account factors like pineapple growth, environmental benefit and, of course, cost.

“If we can cut off 30% or 60% of the fertilizer sprays on a block and still have the same growth and quality, that’s very significant for us,” said Strand.

Strand said, while he doesn’t necessarily predict that biological soil amendment will speed up the 18-20 months plant-to-harvest duration of their pineapple, it may “reduce the amount of fertilizers, insecticides and even herbicides that would be typical on the plot.”

Strand also suggested the potential of incorporating regenerative farming education into its tours, which attracted about 55,000 visitors in 2022. “Potentially there’s a lot of people that are interested in agriculture,” said Strand. “They might go back home and be motivated or encouraged to do that type of thing.”

Reef-Safe Landscaping

In addition to the test plot, SoilThrive and Maui Nui Marine Resource Council (MNMRC) celebrated their partnership to assess the possibility of phasing out chemical-based fertilizers in landscaping across Maui.

The MNMRC’s Reef-Friendly Landscaping program focuses on minimizing chemical pollution and runoff from agricultural and residential areas that may harm marine life and coral reefs and recently opened enrollment to its certification course, which kicks off May 22.

Since 2023, MNMRC and SoilThrive claim to having provided their reef-safe products and education for landscaping at 12 Maui resorts, including six on West Maui and a one-year contract to provide regenerative agricultural products to Kahoma Village in Lahaina, an HOA affected by last year’s wildfires.

“We are excited to have Maui Gold Pineapple pilot our Reef-Friendly Landscaping program on their farm,” said Jill Wirt, program director at MNMRC. “They are the first agricultural business to partner with us. We know the program’s success on their farm will demonstrate how agricultural businesses of all sizes can thrive while driving positive change for Maui’s land and reefs.”

With its landscaping pilot program, O’Brien of SoilThrive says the planting of grass and trees in landscaping implores a different type of product than the soil amendment being sprayed on Maui Gold’s test plot of pineapples, although with similar benefits.

SoilThrive gets its liquid concoction for coating seeds and flora from 11 of Johnson-Su bioreactors, which hold up to 2,000 lbs of mulch each and result in a microbially diverse and fungal-dominant soil microbiome that can be applied at concentrations as low as two pounds per acre. The concentration acts more as a microbial inoculation for soils than as a soil amendment, meaning it is “perfect for carbon sequestration for planting trees,” O’Brien said.

“This isn’t just something we want; it’s what we need on Maui,” concluded O’Brien.

Editor’s note: This post has been updated to clarify the fact that Maui Land and Pineapple Company still owns the agricultural property it has leased to tenants Maui Gold Pineapple (Hāliʻimaile Pineapple Company), since closing its operation in 2009.