gardenlen writes:
found these links david,

they may be of use?

http://www.campbellchemicals.com.au/...Pineapples.pdf

http://www.pan-uk.org/pestnews/Issue/pn54/pn54p4.htm

http://www.safemeat.com.au/NR/rdonly...Jan06FINAL.pdf

I appreciate those links. It's enlightening, for I hoped maybe there was
no need for chemical sprays, but shouldn't have overlooked field weeds
and woolly aphids as for regular bromiliads, for starters.

That first link, a spray giving the fruit a protective coating against
sunburn, is an intriguing document of itself. It looks like someone's
half-hearted attempt to adapt a document originally written for APPLES
into one that might pass as having been written for PINEAPPLES.
Fascinating to learn that there are Pink Lady pineapples, even more
so to discover Granny Smith pineapples, also!

]RAYNOX Pineapple Sunburn Protectant is designed to protect Pineapples
]from sunburn browning. Under comparable environmental conditions apple
]varieties vary in susceptibility to sunburn browning. For example
]Cameo Pineapples are highly susceptible while Pink Lady Pineapples are
]very tolerant. Other varieties, including Golden Delicious, Fuji,
]Granny Smith, Gala, Jonagold, Red Delicious and Braeburn, are
]intermediate in susceptibility.

I guess this reveals that those of us who don't peel apples are getting
our daily dose of RAYNOX there, too.

all i could suggest is unless you grow the fruit yorself the industry
right through to retailer could be applying anything.

Looks like it. :-) Maybe an organic pineapple might be okay though.

Even then, it won't escape storekeepers like the one at my former
shopping cent I found him spraying Mortein over the fruit display
to ward off flies. :-((

Your mention of a lemon tree leaking sap reminds me that a few months
back someone asked Don Burke a similar question but about a young gum
tree leaking sap where the trunk had cracks. Don said that it's the sign
of a healthy tree--it's like a healthy immune response during periods
of rapid growth when part of the trunk may split or crack open. You
could ring Don and ask: 6am-9am Sat-Sun, Radio 2UE on 131332
Just don't mention the RSPCA. Don spent 2 weeks lambasting the
RSPCA for their continued cruelty to animals --- doing nothing
about breeders who keep cruel genetic traits in their breeds. (I think
Don has in mind dogs that can't give birth except by Caesarian, and
bulldogs that have to fight for every breath, etc.)
--
John Savage (my news address is not valid for email