Delays in Spraying May Affect State Crops

California crop-dusters, grounded for a third time because of terrorist fears, voiced concern Monday that prolonged delays in aerial spraying could damage the state’s $29-billion-a-year agricultural industry.

Although groundings so far have had little effect on crops, agricultural officials worried that future delays could allow pests, weeds and disease to establish a foothold in the state’s fields and orchards, potentially devaluing crops or wiping some out altogether.

“We are very concerned about national security issues, but agriculture as a whole is important to national security too,” said Terry Gage, acting administrative director for the 500-member California Agricultural Aircraft Assn.

“We are doing everything we can to cooperate with the ongoing investigations. But we also want to do everything we can to provide the protection we do to the agricultural community.”

The crop-dusting industry was grounded, as were all aircraft nationwide, by the Federal Aviation Administration for several days immediately after the Sept. 11 attacks. Operations were halted again for two days last week and then again Sunday and Monday in response to FBI concerns that terrorists might have been plotting to use the aircraft for biological or chemical terrorist attacks.

Gage said that since last week, both the FAA and the FBI have been questioning association members about their businesses and whether anyone had recently asked about training as a crop-duster pilot.

FBI agents last week also retrieved information on California’s 400 licensed crop-duster pilots from the state Department of Pesticide Regulation, which oversees those operations.

From the Salinas Valley to the Imperial Valley--where celery, avocados and cotton are reaching critical stages--crop-duster pilots say they have so far been able to reschedule most spraying applications.

“It hasn’t been too bad, but if they keep us on the ground very much longer, it will start to get serious,” said Chowchilla-based crop-duster Bob Gudgel, whose three planes now are normally spraying cotton plants.

“This time of year, if you miss a few days with some crops, it makes a lot of difference,” he said.

Oxnard crop-duster Rob Scherzinger, who manages Ventura County’s sole aerial spraying operation, said authorities last week requested background information about him and the two other pilots who fly the company’s three crop-dusting helicopters. He said all three are former Army pilots.

“We sit around now waiting for the phone to ring or the fax to rumble to find out our destiny,” said Scherzinger, who was forced to reschedule half a dozen crop-dusting jobs Monday. “We want to be patriotic and do our part, but I guess right now there’s a lot of concern about what we do.”

If aerial spraying were to be banned for an extended period, growers of crops hard to reach by foot could be particularly hard hit, said California Farm Bureau spokesman Bob Krauter. Those concerns will only mount as the rainy season approaches, he said, rendering some fields impassable and making crop-dusters the only way to battle pests and disease.

“If aerial applicators get clearance to fly again within a couple of days, I wouldn’t expect to see any significant problems,” Krauter said. “Hopefully, we can get this resolved and get these guys back into business.”