Hawaii feels little effect
from U.S. crop-dusting ban

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By Gordon Y.K. Pang
gpang@starbulletin.com

A nationwide ban on aerial crop-dusting had only minimal impacts on Hawaii agriculture.

Two sugar cane plantations, on Maui and Kauai, delayed their cane-ripening efforts for several days due the ban, which was rescinded yesterday.

Cane ripening resumed yesterday at Maui's Hawaiian Sugar and Commercial Co., according to John Hoxie, vice president of agricultural operations.

"There was no disruption to our schedule but we were concerned," Hoxie said. "If it had lasted a couple of weeks or so, that would have affected our schedule."

Officials with Gay and Robinson Inc. on Kauai, which also uses a crop-duster helicopter for ripening, could not be reached for comment.

Cane-ripener is designed to stimulate sucrose production about six weeks prior to harvesting. Both plantations use the crop-duster services provided by Murrayair Ltd. to drop cane-ripener onto sugar cane.

Dina Pascua, Murrayair manager, said a single pilot flies commercially between Kauai and Maui to operate the helicopters that make ripener applications -- once or twice a week at HS&C, once a week at Gay and Robinson.

Operations were grounded the week of the Sept. 11 attacks as part of an overall aerial shutdown. Flights were allowed to resume early last week but stopped again late in the week when it was reported that one suspected Sept. 11 hijacker had shown interest in crop-duster airplanes.

About five days were lost as a result, Pascua said.

Aerial spraying -- either of fertilizer, insecticide or ripener -- was more commonplace when Hawaii had more plantations, Pascua said.

The smaller size of today's agricultural operations make the practice too expensive for most farmers.