Paynter was “terrified” for the upcoming apple season, with picking beginning next month. The stonefruit season had been a successful one, he said, as the timing worked perfectly for students who were on their summer holidays, but the same couldn’t be said about the apple season. “It’s the backpackers we miss the most. Although they would only stay for about a month, they were consistent.” It was hard to convince potential workers from outside the region to move to Hawke’s Bay, he said.
SUPPLIED
Yummy Fruit Company general manager Paul Paynter said he’s “terrified” to think about the upcoming apple season.
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).