Although there are rules for growers, Mr Graham said he wanted to ensure the regional council put stricter enforcement measures in place to limit any harmful effects.
As well as health effects, he said there was an "amazing hypocrisy" about the regulation of this type of burning, compared to air quality monitoring in urban areas.
"There's a huge unfairness in this situation where we badger our people who live in our towns to have the right kind of fires, and put big costs on them to make sure the fireplace they are using for heat is the correct type, and we do nothing about the people in the paddock who want to burn big industrial fires," he said.
"You can't light a fire and think you're not going to affect somebody."
Growers are encouraged to ensure burn-offs occur when there is wind, as burning on a still day when an inversion layer exists will contribute to PM10 levels - PM10 is the major air pollutant monitored in New Zealand, which can cause significant health effects.
However a photo taken by Hawke's Bay photographer Tim Whittaker shows what happens when smoke from a burnoff gets caught in this layer - the striking photo led to growers being pulled up by the Hawke's Bay Fruitgrowers Association on the matter.
Association president Lesley Wilson said they had sent out reminders to growers to only burn in keeping with correct conditions.
"We've got some very strict rules about when people can do burn-offs. Unfortunately sometimes growers will burn when there's no wind, and there needs to be wind so that it doesn't get stuck in the inversion layer," she said.
"We're working with our growers, because we really do need our growers to be aware of the rules.
"It is a privilege and we want to maintain that privilege."
When asked how stricter rules around the practice would affect growers, Ms Wilson said it was not just growers using fires to get rid of material.
For growers who used burn-offs properly they were the "best option on many different levels" as it completely got rid of any disease. Mulching was not an option as the infected material would just return to the ground.
Mr Graham said there was alternate options to burn-offs, although there would be a sizeable cost difference between them.
"But cost is not a justification for pollution."
Currently, no consent is needed to burn vegetation and untreated wood outside except during winter from May to August, on properties within the Napier or Hastings airsheds.
If any burning breaches air quality rules, the council can take enforcement action, council compliance manager Wayne Wright said.
"In terms of [burning] in the airshed, that is an offence under our rules if between 1 May and 31 August. We have issued 15 infringement notices over the past three years for this," he said.
Growers are encouraged to follow best practice guidelines to minimise smoke emissions - a document which was partly prepared by the region council.
"The rules require fires to be managed to minimise smoke, smell and particulates including ash emissions. Even when outdoor burning is permitted conditions must still be met, which seek to limit adverse effects," it states.
These conditions include checking wind and weather conditions, ensuring the material is dry enough, and using alternatives "when reasonably available".