Exploding watermelons at first sounded like a name for a new wave band when I first heard about them going off in China.
How ever the laughter soon stopped when I realised why they were exploding and the agri chemical sprayed on them to make them ripen quicker in China is the same one being used on kiwifruit in the USA.
While I understand the need to spray agri-chemicals such as Hicane to help Kiwifruit ripen or bud burst quicker it still leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth about the short term and long term effects on both the land and we who live on it.
And now with the battle to contain the PSA virus the spraying is going to increase significantly according to John Bourke, The General Manager of Kiwifruit Vine Health, who claimed today 'an all out assault” is required on PSA.
Yes the economic benefits of kiwifruit are substantial and should be protected but then again so should the lungs of the land and the people who live on it.
Lets hope the significant increase in spraying including helicopter aerial spraying is balanced by better compliance, signage and increased notification to neighbours.
T. Kapai, Te Puna.