Combating sunscald with Less Water

Last week, a new project was launched at the experimental farm to prevent sunscald on apples. The project is testing various systems that use significantly less water than sprinkler irrigation. In addition to the misting system from TS Group Holland, which was tested last year, two other systems have now been installed. These include several cooling towers from Catyra. Warm air is drawn into the tower from the top, where it is cooled inside through evaporation. The cooled air exits the tower at the bottom with higher humidity and then spreads across the ground through the crop.

Furthermore, VGB has installed Netafim’s Pulsar™ + StripNet™X system with micro-sprinklers. This system uses approximately 50% less water than traditional irrigation.

We are testing the results for sunscald in comparison to sprinkler irrigation, hail nets, and untreated plots. With this week’s extreme temperatures, it’s the ultimate test!