Pass the sunscreen, the tomatoes are burning

From the San Jose Mercury News:

SPF 45 for produce?

Just like people damage their skin in the sun, fruits and vegetables can also get nasty burns. That’s why farmers are increasingly applying sunscreen to their crops to prevent skin blistering, heat stress and blemishes.

Sunspots on a Granny Smith apple can mean the difference between the lowest price for juice or the more lucrative fresh fruit market. As for nuts, last year buyers paid on average 3-cents a pound more for sunscreen-protected nuts than untreated ones, said grower Ed Lagrutta as stood in the bed of his Chevy Silverado inspecting a San Joaquin Valley walnut grove in its second year of sunscreen tests. With yields topping 2,000 pounds an acre, it adds up, he said.

“With the costs of production going up, growers are looking to increase their margins wherever they can,” said Lagrutta, an adviser for Western Farm Services who farms 20 acres and runs tests on hundreds more.

Climate change and drought in Australia and California’s Central Valley have meant challenging growing conditions for farmers that are affecting the quality, yields and price of produce. Sunscreens alleviate at least one worry for farmers, who lose money with each fruit or vegetable that develops sun damage.

“I spend a lot of time studying drought,” said Eric Wood, Ph.D., a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Princeton University and an expert on hydrology and climate change. “Under climate change, heat stress will become a bigger issue for plants, especially when it creates new heat-released disease. Corn under stress is reflected in smaller ears and lower yields.”

Whenever I see an intriguing headline, I am always hoping for a water connection, because this blog proudly stays on topic, and thankfully, here it is:

Tests show its immediate impact is increasing yields by diminishing stress and heat-related defects, but officials at Purfresh in Fremont hope the product also can play a role in water and energy conservation by increasing a plant’s water efficiency.

“We are where Silicon Valley meets the Central Valley,” said Purfresh chief executive David Cope, who left information technology after 25 years for what he describes as “clean technology.”

“We’re using technology to address food and water availability, which affects consumer prices,” he said.

The company has gained attention for its ozone sanitation system for water, produce packing and cold storage stabilization.Bu t it was its new sunscreen Purshade that lured 20 U.S. and international farm product researchers and advisers to a walnut grove near Visalia, Calif., last week. The product also is being tested on tomatoes, grapes, kiwis and lychees in Australia, said Kerrie Mackay, who works for a company that sells crop protection products in Queensland, which she says is in 140-year drought.

More on this story from the San Jose Mercury News by clicking here.

Comments

Admin

• Log in

Credits

Powered by Vertigo & WordPress
WordPress Themes by Brian Gardner