unexpected benefits
Home gardeners and commercial fruit and vegetable growers have seen
disastrous damage done to their crops by heat-waves over recent years. Even
plantings with excellent irrigation systems have been unable to withstand
the intense solar radiation.
On days when the temperature rises above 40 degrees
C, the temperature of
fruit in direct sunshine can top 50 degrees.
This may well lead to the
breakdown of tissue which manifests itself in
external burning and the
collapse of internal tissue into discoloured
mush or shrivelled kernels.
Applied onto the plant surface with a knapsack
or orchard sprayer, plant
sunscreens form a film of microscopic "prisms,"
that reflect 85%-95% % of
harmful Ultraviolet radiation and reflect infra-red
rays, keeping plants up
to 4 degrees C cooler; however valuable photosynthetic
light is still
allowed to pass through to the plant which enables
basic physiological
processes to continue in high temperature conditions.
It's like applying a
powerful SPF 45 sunscreen to your crop!
These products can reduce sun damage by as much
as 40%, as well as improving
crop quality through larger fruit and better
colouring. Sunscreens can also
reduce plant stress by 50%, improving the plant's
use of available water
resources.
The Food Forest permaculture farm at Gawler is
trialling a certified organic
sunscreen on its walnut and apple crops this
year and hopes for better
yields and quality.
An interesting alternative use for sunscreen
is to increase chill hours in winter, vital for
setting up many tree crops for proper flowering
and fruit set. The Calcium carbonate based
sunscreens also act as fertilisers and pH modifiers.
More technical information is available at
http://www.cropcare.com.au/Assets/40/1/ParasolDPS.pdf
The most commonly used sunscreen in Australia
is Parasol, which is available
via the Elders group of companies ( see below)
1 Head Office
27 Currie Street
ADELAIDE SA 5000
Phone: 08 8425 4000
Fax: 08 8231 1910
Email: service@elders.com.au
2 Elders DiManno McLaren Vale
Lot 30 Old Mill Road
McLaren Vale SA 5171
Phone: 08 8323 7501
Fax: 08 8323 7502
Email: mclarenvalebranch@elders.com.au
3 Elders DiManno Virginia
Old Port Wakefield Road
Virginia SA 5120
Phone: 08 8380 9324
Fax: 08 8380 9755
Email: virginiabranch@elders.com.au
4 Strathalbyn Merchandise
35 Milne Road
SA 5255
Phone: 08 8536 4688
Fax: 08 8536 4698
Email: strathalbyn@elders.com.au
5 Roseworthy
Cnr Flett & Roseworthy Road
ROSEWORTHY SA 5371
Phone: 08 8524 8333 or 08 8521 0302 Real Estate
Fax: 08 8524 8311
Email: graeme.hann@elders.com.au