State and county officials have asked a consultant to hold off on releasing the initial draft report on pesticide use by large-scale agribusinesses on Kauai to allow more work on the health chapter, according to an update Tuesday.

The Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Kauai County hired The Accord3.0 Network, headed by Peter Adler, in December 2014 to do a joint fact-finding study on the possible health and environmental effects of pesticide use on genetically modified crops.

The initial draft report was to be posted Wednesday, with an informational briefing to follow Monday.

Adler said he was asked by the county and the state to defer posting the report and the briefing, but he declined Tuesday to say who asked him to hold off.

“There was an agreement that we should take the time and get it done right,” he said, noting the need to do more work on the health component. “We are not ready to roll this out yet.”

Adler said it should be ready by the end of March at the latest.

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