Australian pineapple farmers using sunblock to protect crops
"The fruit out there that's getting close to harvest gets sunburnt badly," he said.
"We have had a big natural flowering this year so we could potentially lose quite a bit of money, it just depends when the fruit is ready."
Mr Pike said farmers apply a crushed limestone 'sun block' solution to fruit to protect it from burning.
"It is good from a cannery point of view as the cannery is not concerned about the appearance of the fruit."
For pineapples sold into the fresh fruit market, Mr Pike uses a polymer solution that doesn't change the colour of the pineapple.
"If you are growing for Golden Circle you can protect them with the [limestone] sunscreen, but a majority of our crop goes to fresh fruit so you are limited to what you can spray on them," he said.
Pike explained that prolonged heat can also stunt the growth of the fruit, provided the nightly temperatures are also high.
source: abc.net.au
