MEDIA RELEASE

3 December 2002

Painted Apple Moth Aerial Operation To Resume This Morning

The extended aerial operation against the painted apple moth will resume at first light this morning.

Close to half of the 8,500 hectare eradication zone was completed yesterday before the operation was called off. Weather permitting there is about two hours of flying left for the Fokker Friendship and the light plane will complete the remaining area in about five hours.

Once again, the aircraft will take breaks to refuel between 8-9.00 am, 12.15-1.00 pm and 3-4.00 pm when children are walking to and from school and are at lunch.

The spray to be used is called Foray 48B. Its active ingredient is a naturally-occurring soil bacterium called Bacillus thuringiensis kurstaki or Btk for short. This product has been widely used throughout the world for over 30 years as a highly effective means of killing caterpillar pests. Some Btk products are approved organic pest control agents.

ENDS

© Scoop Media