The power of the flame weeder against frost

Not only weeding, but also frost protection to save crops. Frost hit the fruit and vegetable growing areas on the Adriatic side at least 3-4 times between 19 March and 9 April. "Some farmers who used our technology managed to save their harvests," explains Marco Mingozzi, owner of the Mingozzi Group and the first to realise that flame weeding could also be used against frost.

The principle used to solve the problem of thermal inversion leading to frost in plants is that of air heating by convection. "The rise in altitude of the colder air that is on the ground is induced by convection, heating the air that is close to the ground in a suitable manner and volume. As the air mass on the ground heats up, it expands, becoming less dense, and thus starts to rise. The two air masses, one cold and one warm, converge and rise. This process is triggered by the strong heating of the air produced by the machine on the ground."

Subsequently, the rising air cools faster than the surrounding air and, at a certain altitude (above 4 metres), both will reach the same temperature, and then their upward motion will stop.

These machines, towed by tractors and running on LPG gas contained in commercial drums, allow a continuous working width of 12.0 m and a working speed of 6 km/hour by means of a special system consisting of a direct flame protected by an air jet. It is possible to cover about 6-8 hectares per hour.

The device is equipped with 15 open-flame burners protected by shielding and relative safety systems and two side burner kits consisting of three burners mounted on both the right and left sides of the machine. The kit is complete with piping and connection taps. The burners are controlled by the unit on the tractor.

For more information:
Officine Mingozzi
Via Val d'Albero 25/B
Ferrara
info@pirodiserbo.it
www.pirodiserbo.it