Late frosts damage many fruit and vegetable crops each year. There are many defense systems available, but some are very expensive or difficult to implement. In some cases, such as where there is a lack of water or where the soil suffers from water stagnation, anti-frost irrigation is not an option that can be considered beyond the investment.
The Italian company Pilati offers a pellet-fueled burner system of its own design. "These burners," says Gianfranco Pilati, "were conceived by us. They have been in use for several years on various crops such as vines, cherries, apricots, peaches, apples, small fruit, and horticultural crops, the latter in protected cultivation. Where they have been used, the average temperature at the peak of production has been about 3°C higher than the ambient temperature," he says.
"The prevention of frost on crops," continues Pilati, "has proven to be a fundamental tool for farms to save their harvests. Especially in recent years, due to the climatic changes we are all aware of, weather conditions can often be much more extreme and unpredictable than in the past, with all that this implies, especially for agriculture. These burners can be placed inside each other to facilitate transportation and storage, thus optimizing storage space."
The burner is octagonal in shape, made of thick sheet metal, and accumulates heat by slowly releasing it. It is fueled by pellets and each load of fuel lasts about 8-9 hours, which is enough to protect the crops each night.
"Once purchased, they last forever. The number of stoves to be placed in the field per hectare is very variable. It depends on the exposure, the slope, the location of the crop, whether or not it has protective netting, and whether we have polytunnels. In short, there are many variables," he concludes.
For more information:
Pilati Gianfranco
Via Campo Sportivo, 32
38023 - Cles (TN)
+39 0463 625356
info@pilatigianfranco.it
www.pilatigianfranco.it