The fear of fruit fly is forcing Riverland growers to mulch their damaged stone fruit crops after a vicious hail storm last month.
ABC Rural: Grace WhitesideA month after a freak hailstorm that ripped through South Australia's Riverland, farmers are now dealing with the risk of a fruit fly outbreak due to the abundance of damaged fruit.A hail storm on November 4 shredded grape vines and potholed stone fruit, citrus and nut cropsThe Riverland is currently internationally recognised as being free of fruit fly
Instead of harvesting his eight-hectare apricot farm, Greg Pilgrim has been shaking scarred fruit from his trees and mulching the ruined produce."It's pretty upsetting but I can't put it back.In less than half an hour, the November 4 hail storm that hit Barmera, Monash, Glossop, and parts of Renmark"I was at the house talking to somebody and couldn't even hear the telephone...it was on the roof and then it got bigger and bigger," Mr Pilgrim said.
"I talked to the next door neighbour and he reckoned 90 to 100 per cent [of crop was damaged]; then I got PIRSA to come out and they agreed." The State Government has paid for workers to pick all of Greg Pilgrim's damaged crop so it can be mulched.
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