Hawaiian scientist quests to find and save the state’s native sugarcanes

Sugarcane biodiversity disappeared as big plantations dominated the sugar trade in Hawaii, but now native varieties are making a comebackNoa Kekuewa Lincoln remembers when he first encountered native Hawaiian sugarcane in 2004. The fresh stalks, bursting with color, might have sprouted from Willy Wonka’s imagination, not the soil.Lincoln, a kanaka maoli (Native Hawaiian) expert in Indigenous cropping systems and an assistant professor at the University of Hawaii, said: “I grew up see