£5214 CLAIM Hormone Damage To Crop Alleged

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30278, 2 November 1963, Page 12

£5214 CLAIM Hormone Damage To Crop Alleged

(New Zealand Press Association)

HAMILTON, November 1.

Allegations that a weed-killing spray drifting from Alfred George Hayward’s farm at Taneatua had damaged his vegetable crops were made in the Supreme Court at Hamilton today by Graham Spencer Bayley, a market gardener. Bayley is claiming £5214 damages from Hayward.

Allen Leonard Sisam, a farm manager, said there was a 1 degree frost at Tameatua art the end of 1961. His vegetable and maize crops were not seriously affected by the frosts, although some bean plants were touched. His beans were planted on the same day as Bayley’s. Samuel Royston Hewitt, a farm advisory officer at Whakatane, said he visited Bayley's faruri on November 29, 1961. Bayley told him he thought his garden crops had been damaged by a hormone weed-killer.

The melons appeared to be abnormal, while the beans were distorted, when he visited Bayley’s garden again on December 22, 1961.

The principal scientific officer of the Fruit Research Division of the DJS.I.R., Ronald Merrick Davidson, said he received samples of beans and tomato plants from Bayley’s garden on December 1. 1961. The samples showed leaf symptoms typical of those produced by - plant hormones.

In specimens of hawthorn and barberry received on February 5, 1962, the leaves showed a pattern consistent with hormone injury. All crops like water melons, rock melons, beans and cucumbers were susceptible to hormone injury.

As the doses of hormones increased, the leaves of these plants became malformed and growth was retarded. If the dose were large enough the plant would be killed. Subsequent cultural treatment would not improve crops that had been affected by hormone, said Davidson. He said 2-4 D was dangerous to horticultural crops. Brian Massey Piper, horticultural advisory officer for the Department of Agriculture at Tauranga, said Bayley was inexperienced as a market gardener when he first

knew him in 1958, but he improved. Frost damage was quite different from that caused by hormones, said Piper. He visited Bayley’s garden on November 27, 1961, and he was convinced the crops were suffering from hormone damage. There was a malformation of the leaves. He sent samples to the Plant Division.

The hearing will be continued on Monday.