DESTRUCTION OF HAWKE’S BAY FRUIT

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 7263, 20 October 1910, Page 1

DESTRUCTION OF HAWKE’S BAY FRUIT

PEACHES SUFFER MOST WORST FROST FOR TWENTY YEARS. SPECIAL TO THE " TIMES.'* HASTINGS, October 19. Tho remarkably severe fiosfc experienced in Hawke’s Bay on Tuesday morning, when twelve degrees were registered, has worked havoc among the peach orchards on the fiat country. Not for twenty years, it is declared, has a spring frogt been so severe and so disastrous. Some estimates place the damage at £IO,OOO, and while’ this almost may be so, it is difficult at the present moment to determine the exact injury caused. Tho visitation was apparently iu zones. The uplands practically escaped, and even on the low country there are belts quite unaffected. For instance, at the Arataki experiment vineyard the young cuttings propagated on resistant stocks for supplying’this season are almost destroyed and. ‘ will be worthless for thus season at any rate, the trees above the ground line naving been quite killed. Alongside, the older ones are affected to a much less extent, and but a few yards away peach trees are untouched. This is apparently a common experience, some growers having had their crops, generally peaches, destroyed, while others again have escaped. The damage is almost entirely confined to peaches. The Dost came just at the* critical time. Tho young peaches were just set, and the heavy frost, followed by an exceptionally hot day, has burnt buds and absolutely destroyed them. At ,’Mangateratera 'plums are said to be affected and pears also to some extent, but the damage is not serious. The f lost hardly touched Havelock. At Mahora the walnut trees are bitten, and some of the apples have been affected.

It is, however, on. the flat where the chief damage has been caused, and the damage is worse at Frimley than at any other section of the district, as this is the great peach centre. Mr W, H. Smith, managing director of the Kaiapo orchard® at Frimley, said the frost was the severest he had felt for this season of the year 1 during the last twenty years, and though# he and his men had worked hard all through the early hours of tho morning there was not a case of sound fruit left in his orchard. He believed that other, orchard® on, the, flats had suffered equal damage. ' ; It i® argued that the .reason, the “smudge" treatment failed with Mr Smith is that there'are currents of air owing to the configuration of the country whoch prevent the smoke settling and thereby making it ineffective. In consequence of this. the American system of heaters is advocated. Latest. accounts of tho damage done indicate that the first reports of the effect. of the frost were rather exaggerated.