Premium Content Subscriber only Some fruit producers in the area are literally watching fruit rot in trees after the pandemic stopped them from getting enough temporary workers to pick the fruit. Blueberry managing director Andrew Bell confirmed almost 15 per cent of his produce could not be picked in time. Speaking from Lindendale Farm, said the farm was able to bring some workers to help with the harvest, although not as many as they required. "We got close. In the end we were short about 100 people, so we had to leave some fruit behind," he said. Mr Bell said despite a couple of hundred tons of fruit were left unpicked, the Tabulam site recorded a record amount of blueberries packed.