Progress 09/01/21 to 08/31/23

Outputs
Target Audience:1. Undergraduate students in BS degree programs at the College of Natural and Applied Sciences at the University of Guam. 2. Undergraduate students at the University of Guam who have interests in agriculture research. 3. High school students who have interests in agriculture research. 4. Graduate students in MS degree program of Sustainable Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources at College of Natural and Applied Sciences at the University of Guam. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project provided opportunities for training in agricultural research work to undergraduate and graduate students and supported students' presentation at a regional conference. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Students's actitivies supported by the project were shared with communities at the symposia offered during the UOG's annual regional conference in 2022 and 2023. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Objective 1: To increase the number of students who can engage in research activities of food and agricultural science at the University of Guam. The project offered the training program on agriculture and horticulture research to eightstudents during Year 1 and 11 students in Year 2. We ran the program mainly during summer and winter breaks as the short training program. For students who wanted to continue engaging in research during the Fall and Spring semesters, we continued to assign them the projects and encouraged their research work. In Y1 (Sept. 1, 2021-Aug. 31, 2022) the student participants in the training program included one high school student, six undergraduate students majoring in Agriculture and Life Science (ALS), and one graduate student majoring in the MS degree in Sustainable Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources (SAFNR). During Y2 (Sept. 1, 2022 - Aug. 31, 2023) we had all undergraduate students; four majoring ALS and four Applied Biology majors, and one student from each major program of Biology/Chemistry, Criminal Justice, Public Adminstration, and Business Administration. Research projects that student trainees participated in were in-vitro culture of sweet potato and orchid accessions, identification of flavonoids in using high performance chromatography, determination of antioxidant properties, field experiments of eggplant and hot pepper cultivars, generic analysis and plant identification of new weeds, and genetic analysis of native plants and local cultivars, and the development of local cocopeats utilizing coconut husks as alternative substrates of potting mix. Each student submitted their time sheet (hours they worked and description of what they did and learned) at the end of the program or as a monthly report. Stipends were paid according to the hours worked. The training program was very successful in introducing to students the research projects currently conducted at Agriculture and Life Science Division. Students gained hand-on experience and knowledge of scientific research methods. To encourage student research activities, this project provided supplies and materials to support research activities in SAFNR Graduate thesis and ALS undergraduate special project and capstone courses. The project provided two SAFNR graduate students with stipends to support their completion of thesis and one ALS undergraduate to conduct her own research project which is required for completion of the ALS degree program. In addition, the project provided financial support to two ALS undergraduate students (one Fall 2022 and one Spring 2023) and one SAFNR graduate student (Fall 2022). The SAFNR student graduated in December 2022. Objective 2: To increase the number of students who can present their research findings and communicate at online symposiums focusing on food and agricultural sciences at the University of Guam. To provide students an opportunity for their oral and poster presentations, we were able to participate in the hybrid regional symposium in 2022 and 2023. For Y1, The project supported students participating at a regional conference, "Special Symposium: Research Projects in Sustainable Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (SAFNR) program at the University of Guam" as part of the 2022 University of Guam Conference of Island Sustainability on April 6-7, 2022. A collection of research papers in the area of sustainable agriculture, food and natural resources were presented on (1) food security--(1a) establishing a giant clam farm; (1b) potential value-added product from calamansi peel; (1c) production of new crop, roselle, with high phenolics contents and rich in antioxidant property; (2) conservation of biodiversity--(2a) promoting use of open-pollinated vegetable crops and their seed production; (3) developing sustainable farm system--(3a) analysis of agroecosystem of farms in Guam; (3b) utilization of cocopeats for container plant production; (3c) erosion control by vetiver grass (4) food and human health--(4a) identification of food deserts; (4b) delivering variety packs of local produce to consumers and (5) conservation and study of natural plants--(5a) study on control methods of invasive Vitex in forests. For Y2, we organized a hybrid symposium at the 2023 University of Guam Conference of Island Sustainability on April 12-13, 2023. The symposium was entitled 'Cornucopia' which presented student research experiences and learning opportunities in agriculture and life sciences at the University of Guam. Students prepared their abstracts and presented on (1) Healthy & Prosperous Communities: (1a) The impact of stressors on Guam's farming community; (2) Educated, Capable, & Compassionate Islands: (2a) Student intern experiences at the horticulture laboratory; (3) Thriving Natural Resources: (3a) Flavonoids, total phenolic content, and antioxidant activity in leaves and calyces of Hibiscus sabdariffa accessions and H. rosa-sinensis, (3b) Veggies: superfoods in the Pacific Islands; (3c) Total phenolics, methylglyoxal content, antioxidant activity, and quality of local multifloral honeys. There were 11 undergraduate students, nineof which were ALS students, and five participated in our research training program. Two graduate students participated and supported the undergraduate students' presentation. This symposium presentation was successful for students as they gained experience in organizing and presenting their findings, improve their skills to communicate and deliver results, and gained valuable confidence giving a speech to the community.

Publications

• Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2022 Citation: a. Delfin, Maegan 2022. Flavonoids, Total Phenolic Content, and Antioxidant Activity of Hibiscus sabdariffa Leaves and Calyxes. MS Thesis in Sustainable Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, University of Guam, December 2022

Progress 09/01/22 to 08/31/23

Outputs
Target Audience:1. Undergraduate students in BS degree programs at the College of Natural and Applied Sciences at the University of Guam. 2. Graduate students in MS degree program of Sustainable Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources at College of Natural and Applied Sciences at the University of Guam. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project provided opportunities for training in agricultural research work to undergraduate and graduate students and supported students' presentation at a regional conference. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Students activities supported by the project was disseminated asthe presentations at the 2022regional conference at the University of Guam. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Objective 1: To increase the number of students who can engage in research activities of food and agricultural science at the University of Guam. Eleven undergraduate students were supported by the project during 2023. During winter recess in January 2023, the agriculture research/extension training program was offered to fiveundergraduates. The horticulture research training program was also offered to fiveundergraduate students through Spring semester 2023. Four students are majoring in Agriculture and Life Sciences (ALS). One student is an Applied Biology major and the other is a Criminal Justice major. Students were assigned to assist with different research projects including in-vitro culture of sweet potato and orchid accessions, genetic analysis of orchid, local corn, the survey and description of new weeds in Guam, field evaluation of local hot peppers, utilization of cocopeats utilizing coconut husks as alternative substrates of potting mix. The project provided financial support to one ALS undergraduate to conduct her own research project which is required for completion of the ALS degree program. Objective 2: To increase the number of students who can present their research findings and communicate at online symposiums focusing on food and agricultural sciences at the University of Guam. The project supported participation in a hybrid symposium during the 2023 University of Guam Conference of Island Sustainability on April 12-13, 2023. The symposium 'Cornucopia' presented student research experiences and learning opportunities in agriculture and life sciences at the University of Guam. Students prepared their abstracts and presented on (1) Healthy & Prosperous Communities: (1a) The impact of stressors on Guam's farming community; (2) Educated, Capable, & Compassionate Islands: (2a) Student intern experiences at the horticulture laboratory; (3) Thriving Natural Resources: (3a) Flavonoids, total phenolic content, and antioxidant activity in leaves and calyces of Hibiscus sabdariffa accessions and H. rosa-sinensis, (3b) Veggies: superfoods in the Pacific Islands; (3c) Total phenolics, methylglyoxal content, antioxidant activity, and quality of local multifloral honeys.

Publications

• Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2022 Citation: a. Delfin, Maegan 2022. Flavonoids, Total Phenolic Content, and Antioxidant Activity of Hibiscus sabdariffa Leaves and Calyxes. MS Thesis in Sustainable Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, University of Guam, December 2022

Progress 09/01/21 to 08/31/22

Outputs
Target Audience:1. Undergraduate students in BS degree programs at College of Natural and Applied Sciences at the University of Guam. 2. Graduate students in MS degree program of Sustainable Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources at College of Natural and Applied Sciences at the University of Guam. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project provided opportunities for training in horticulture research work to high school, undergraduate and graduate students and supported graduate students present their research projects at a regional conference. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We continue to offer the research training program and provide stipends to students to achieve the objective 1. For objective 2, we will instruct undergraduate student trainees and graduate students to present their research and experiential learning projects at a conference.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Objective 1: To increase the number of students who can engage in research activities of food and agricultural science at the University of Guam. The horticulture research training program was offered to one high school student, six undergraduate students, and one graduate student in 2022. Four of six undergraduate students are majoring in Agriculture and Life Sciences (ALS) and two students are Applied Biology majors. Undergraduate and high school students were assigned to assist with different projects including in-vitro culture of sweet potato and orchid accessions, identification of flavonoids in using high performance chromatography, determination of antioxidant properties, field experiments of eggplant cultivars, harvesting crops and data taking. One new graduate student in the MS degree in Sustainable Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (SAFNR) engages in utilization of cocopeats utilizing coconut husks as alternative substrates of potting mix. The project provided two SAFNR graduate students with stipends to support their completion of thesis and one ALS undergraduate to conduct her own research project which is required for completion of the ALS degree program. Objective 2: To increase the number of students who can present their research findings and communicate at online symposiums focusing on food and agricultural sciences at the University of Guam. The project supported graduate students participating at a regional conference, "Special Symposium: Research Projects in Sustainable Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (SAFNR) program at the University of Guam" on April 6-7, 2022. A collection of research papers in the area of sustainable agriculture, food and natural resources presented on (1) food security--(1a) establishing a giant clam farm; (1b) potential value-added product from calamansi peel; (1c) production of new crop, roselle, with high phenolics contents and rich in antioxidant property; (2) conservation of biodiversity--(2a) promoting use of open-pollinated vegetable crops and their seed production; (3) developing sustainable farm system--(3a) analysis of agroecosystem of farms in Guam; (3b) utilization of cocopeats for container plant production; (3c) erosion control by vetiver grass (4) food and human health--(4a) identification of food deserts; (4b) delivering variety packs of local produce to consumers and (5) conservation and study of natural plants--(5a) study on control methods of invasive Vitex in forests.

Publications