Growers reduce losses, maximize returns with Purshade solar protectant

FREMONT, USA: Purfresh, a provider of clean technologies that purify, protect, and preserve our food and water, announced that growers around the globe are reducing costly losses and in turn are maximizing returns using Purshade to protect their crops from solar damage.

Widely recognized as a leading cause of cullage, sunburn and heat stress are responsible for losses ranging from 15 to 50 percent, depending on the crop and seasonal conditions.

Results from research studies and field trials conducted in the United States, Australia, Chile, and Thailand have shown that using Purshade solar protectants significantly decreased sunburn-related losses, enhanced crop quality and value, and in many cases increased overall yield due to improved plant health and water use efficiency.

Designed to protect crops from solar and water stress, calcium-based Purshade— engineered with patent-pending Advanced Reflectance Technology (ART) — reflects harmful wavelengths of solar radiation such as ultraviolet and infrared, while allowing transmission of sufficient sunlight for photosynthesis.

Offering superior solar protection and preferred by growers for its easy application and post-harvest removal, Purshade is now being used around the world—on a wide variety of crops, including field and tree fruit, vegetables, vines, and nuts— to reduce transplant shock, enhance color and size, minimize physical damage, and improve pack-out.

“Solar damage can cut deep into a grower’s profit, so prevention is critical. But to be used, the product has to offer an ROI and be easy to incorporate into an existing crop management program,” said Dave Cheetham, R&D and Technical Marketing Manager for Helena Chemical Company.

“In the trials we’ve performed using Purshade, we’ve seen significant reductions in sun damage which translates directly into improved returns, and we’ve also been impressed with the product’s ease of use. Purshade offers excellent coverage, is easy to handle, mix, apply and remove, and can be sprayed with other crop protectants, which saves growers time and money.”

According to research studies and trials, reductions in solar stress were an important factor in increasing the productivity of a broad range of crops grown around the globe.

Citrus: A broad variety of citrus crops, such as mandarins, tangelos, lemons, limes, and oranges, are susceptible to heat stress and sunburn. Purshade treated orange and lemon trees in Chile showed an 11 and 8 percent decrease in sunburn, respectively, compared to the untreated trees, and only 10 percent of Satsuma Mandarins in California treated with Purshade experienced sunburn damage compared to 20 percent sun damage on the untreated control.

Onions: As a shallow rooted crop, onions require special production considerations to minimize sunscald damage that occurs from high temperatures and direct sunlight. In the United States, an onion grower experienced a 13 to 1 return on investment with Purshade. Only 1.5 percent of the Purshade treated crop showed signs of sun damage compared to 10 percent of the untreated control.

Pineapples: The negative effects of solar stress can limit plant production and damage growing pineapples externally and internally. In Thailand, using Purshade on pineapples produced healthier crops resulting in a 207 percent increase in yield compared to the untreated control.

Tomatoes: Even though tomato plants thrive in hot climates, tomatoes can suffer from sunscald and heat stress when temperatures rise above 86 degrees Fahrenheit or 30 degrees Celsius. In Australia, treatments of Purshade on processing tomatoes increased yield by 8 percent, reduced cullage by 50 percent, and improved fruit solids compared to the untreated plants.

In other parts of the world such as Argentina, Dominican Republic, and Mexico, similar results on a variety of crops including apples, avocados, melons, pears, walnuts, and wine grapes have been recorded.

“Producers around the globe are faced with increased pressure to maximize production of every acre they plant, so it is not surprising to report that demand for our Purshade solar protectants continues to increase exponentially,” said Tom Justmann, general manager, plant health group for Purfresh.

“Commercially available in more than 12 countries and proven effective by researchers and growers alike, Purshade is now recognized around the world as a key contributor to optimizing the value of a crop.”

The Purshade family of products includes a formulation for use on conventional crops as well as a formulation that is approved for organic production by the Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI), and has been reviewed by the Institute for Marketecology (IMO) and BCS Chile. The liquid formulations are easy to mix, can be applied with standard spray equipment, and provide for easy wash-off.