An apparently uneven battle, but one that in many cases can lead to good results, and save the harvest: What strategies do farmers implement to face the phenomenon of frost? On the night of Wednesday, 19 March 2025, the first of two scheduled installments took place. In Emilia Romagna, producers have used all possible anti-frost techniques and the final result will be seen in a few days.
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Anti-frost irrigation under foliage at Casadei Company
At 10 p.m. on 18 March, the temperature in the inland plains of the province of Ravenna was close to zero, causing considerable concern among farmers. One of the most popular methods was to irrigate under foliage; Golinucci Daniele in Forlì protected a G3 yellow kiwi plant with sprinklers that were activated in the early evening.
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Burner producing hot air
A few hundred meters further on, we come to another grower's farm, equipped with a gas burner mounted on a trailer that generates heat by spraying air around as if from an atomizer. You have to walk around the orchard all night to raise the temperature by a few degrees.
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Davide Vernocchi, president of Apoconerpo, at his farm
In Villanova di Ravenna, Davide Vernocchi, farmer and president of Apoconerpo, spent the night loading and supervising his pellet burners: "We installed almost 400 of them and at the same time I started the irrigation system. Let's see if, as in other years, it will be enough to protect the stone fruit crop. It's hard, we have to work all night long," says Vernocchi, supported by two assistants, "but we have no choice, we have to guarantee production.
Walking through the countryside of Romagna, it seems that we are near an airport, with many airplanes with their engines running, ready to take off, but in reality, it is the hissing sound of the wind turbines, accompanied by the noise of the electric generators.
The defrosting machine of Officine Mingozzi
The Piolanti brothers from Forlì have used for the first time the anti-frost machine of Officine Mingozzi, which during the rest of the season is a weeding machine, but in these last nights has been used to raise the temperature of the orchard, thanks to the open flames created on the row and between the rows.
Heating in the Ravenna countryside
Antonio Casadei's farm, in the province of Ravenna, combines under-row irrigation with the combustion of hay: a method that saved the harvest even in the terrible years of 2020, 2021, and 2023.
More pellet heaters
"It costs a lot of money to protect ourselves from frost," said Piolanti, who runs a 30-hectare orchard, "but we have no alternative if we want to continue earning an income."