After getting covered in spray, the cyclists called the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council. An environmental officer went to the site and saw two orchard sprayers operating in gusty wind, with spray seen blowing over the path. The officer spoke to the orchard manager, who told him the spray operator was “very green”, and said he would tell him to cease spraying so close to the road in order to stop the drift.
MARTIN DE RUYTER
Johnny Appleseed Holdings Ltd has been convicted and fined for the offending on a Hastings orchard. The agrichemicals that were being sprayed at the time were Calibra (a fertiliser), Folicur (a fungicide classified as hazardous), Mantrac (a fertiliser classified as hazardous) and Pristine (a fungicide classified as hazardous).