Regulator raises alarm over insecticide use of blueberries

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Blueberry growers are making new plans for the next fruit fly outbreak in order to comply with tougher rules on a popular pesticide. Producers in the heart of blueberry country say the changes amount to an effective ban.

Transcript

00:00Australia has developed an almost insatiable appetite for blueberries, with demand surging

00:07by 900 per cent over the last nine years.

00:11We were one of the early ones to switch over to this crop. Demand was growing and it skyrocketed.

00:20When production is threatened by fruit flies, growers turn to the insecticide, dimethoate.

00:26We only use dimethoate when it's an outbreak.

00:30But regulators are sounding the alarm on health risks, saying we've literally eaten into the

00:36safety margin.

00:37We've taken action to increase the amount of time between spraying and harvesting to allow

00:43those residues to further break down. The trigger for this was the fact that there has been

00:48such a significant increase in consumption.

00:51Blueberry farmers say this two week window between spraying and picking is almost like

00:55a ban on the pesticide because their fruit will become too ripe if left on the vine for

00:59that long.

01:00Because you can't leave the berries more than four or five days on the plant. So if there's

01:05an outbreak in the area, that's gone.

01:08I sympathise with the farmers that they've been handed a dud in this product and told it's

01:13safe when it may not be at all.

01:15Academics say high exposure has the potential to cause neurological impairments.

01:20It's something that the parents bear if their child is impacted. It's something that the

01:25public bears in terms of public health costs.

01:27Growers will have to rely even more on alternative methods.

01:31We are using integrated pest management which contains bugs to control bugs plus all the traps.

01:39This is pray to God, have a good season.

01:43And keep the nation's hunger for blueberries satisfied.

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