A HEAVY HAILSTORM.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19488, 18 November 1926, Page 17

A HEAVY HAILSTORM.

DAMAGE IN HAWKE'S BAY. ORCHARDS BADLY AFFECTED. MANY FRUIT CROPS SPOILED. Considerable damage to the fruit crops in a portion of the Hawke's Bay district was occasioned by a severe hail-stortn last Friday- Seme growers state that the damage in their orchards was so great that they have had to give np all hopes of export. Orchards at Hastings and those on the outskirts do not appear to have suffered to any extent. At Pakowhai very few orchards escaped and Sturmer and Gravenstein apples were badly hit. These fruits were not as sheltered as other varieties and as a result they were struck with the , full force of the storm. Mr. J. H. Milne, of Havelock North, stated that in the orchards right through to the Tuki Tuki, the fruit had been so badly marked that it was useless to try to sort it out. In the main the whole of the orchards were peppered badly. The early peach crop also Buffered badly, but on these trees the fruit was more sheltered than on the apple trees. Plums, peaches, pears and apples all suffered damage, and as, unfortunately, most of the commercial orchards in Hawke's Bay are in the area where the storm was most' severe, the damage and loss are very great.

Some idea of the force of the storm at Havelock North, toward the Tuki Tuki, may be gathered from the experience of Mr. D. S. McLeod at his orchards. Here the apples were bruised to a depth of one-eighth of an inch, and with a bruise to : this extent in the young fruit it is not hard to realise what the fruit would be like when it reaches • maturity. ; Mr. McLeod stated that the hail fell to a depth of two inches in his orchard. • ' :

Reports from other orchards at Havelock North are similar, and of half a dozen orchardists questioned not one of those on the Napier side of the Havelock road escaped damage. The damage was so extensive that in each case trie grower stated that it was useless thinking of trying to pick out the undamaged fruit, and their hopes of a good export season had absolutely vanished. Effect oa Export Trade.

In the Pakowhai district the experiences were similar. One grower said that in his orchard not one tree had escaped the peppering of the hailstones. ,"I will have no fruit for export this year," he added, "and I'm afraid from my district there will nob be any fruit for export from any of the orchards. .We have been badly hit, and at a time when we expected. to do so well." Last season about cases of fruit were exported from Hastings, says the Napier Telegraph, and had shipping been available more could have been sent. Even allowing for a rather lighter yield, it is fairly certain that at least 100,000 cases would have, been shipped this year, but now it is very doubtful if the total will reach 40,000 cases. In most, orchards spraying operations have just been completed and the growers were preparing to reap the benefit of their hard work. Now, in most cases, all this work has gone for nothing. ; From Mahora* reports have been received that great damage was suffered, especially on the western sides of the orchards, but this locality does not appear to ha.ve suffered as severely as Havelock North and Pakowhai. In Mahora hard pears withstood the force of the hail, and the leaves were sufficient protection for much of the fruit. At the same time, the damage f done there will greatly upset the export totals and the estimate of a 60 per cent.' loss will probably be not- far out. A Pea-Grower's Loss. Further evidence of the damage done by the storm was provided by a Hastings resident who lives at tiie Napier end of Karamu Road. He went into an office at Hastings with a pocketful of green peas. "What da . you think of those 1" he asked. An inspection revealed the,fact that all the pods were badly broken by the hail stones. "I've got two acres of those and they're all the same —everyone marked like that and the whole crop damaged," stated the peagrower. In further conversation, he stated that the peas were all ready for picking, and he was very nearly starting on the job on the morning of the storm, bat decided to leave it until Monday so that they could be in ths best .possible condition. This decision proved very costly, for the grower had previously sent his peas to Wellington and realised up to 4s 7d a peck. He says his crop would have yielded at least £IOO, but now he considered that he would be lucky to get £5 from it. Beans and other vegetables also suffered badly.