A bad batch of pesticide spray that ruined $9 million worth of apple crops contained a fungicide not intended for apples, testing has confirmed.
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The company that sold the product is investigating whether it, or the manufacturer, is responsible for damaging 185ha of apple crops in Nelson and Hawke's Bay.
The spray damaged the skin and leaves of young apples and caused fruitlets to fall off trees. Apples and Pears New Zealand said affected fruit would be removed and destroyed.
The Nelson-based chemical company Adama has tested its Mancozeb cover spray and found the fungicide Azoxystrobin in one of the batches.
"While Azoxystrobin is a systematic fungicide commonly used in agriculture - particularly on wheat, grapes and some vegetable crops - its use is not intended for apples," the company said in a statement.
Chief executive David MacGibbon would not name the manufacturer, but said his team felt 'gutted' over the damage.
"I'd like to apologise to those affected growers and customers for the situation because this is causing frustration and uncertainty in Hawke's Bay and Nelson.
"We're working really hard to provide the support and assistance we can ... we believe the area of visible damage at this stage is around 185 hectares. That's 150 hectares in Nelson and 35 in Hawke's Bay."
Mr MacGibbon said the manufacturer and Adama were fully insured and were investigating what happened.
"We don't manufacture this product, we have it imported and it's sold ready-made. But we're still working with the manufacturer to really establish the root cause.
"It has been a pretty complex investigation ... whatever the outcome of the investigation, growers will be given assistance."
He said at this stage growers are getting help with practical work, technical advice, and monitoring.
"It's quite hard to work out the extent of the damage and the value, but if we took last years estimates on crop returns then we would be looking at excess of $9m at the moment."
A report from the Ministry for Primary Industries showed exports of apples and pears were worth $701m last season.
Mr MacGibbon said Adama would know more about compensation and who would pay what once the investigation was complete.
He said Adama had sold the spray for ten years without a problem.
"However, we will not be selling it again as we have now lost our faith in its manufacturer. This is the only product they produce for us."