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Independent Trials on California Crops Confirm Purshade Reduces Solar Stress

California clean technology company offers unique plant protectant for solar and water stress, increasing marketable yield, improving grade, and maximizing use of available water 

Fremont, CA – April 8, 2009 – Purfresh, a provider of clean technologies that purify, protect, and preserve our food and water, today announced results of a series of replicated independent studies, all demonstrating that Purshade™ effectively protects crops from solar and water stress. By enhancing the growing conditions, improvements were seen in marketable yield, grade, and the utilization of available water resources—an important issue for California and many other geographies globally. Research studies and field trials on a variety of crops, ranging from melons and wine grapes to walnuts, show significant decreases in physical damage from sunlight, along with an overall increase in biomass production and other crop quality characteristics, including size, color, and weight.

Purshade, based on patent-pending Advanced Reflectance Technology™ (ART), reflects harmful wavelengths of solar radiation such as ultraviolet (UV) and infrared (IR), while allowing transmission of sufficient sunlight for photosynthesis. Laboratory results show Purshade reflects as much as 90-98% of harmful UV radiation, and has been shown to keep plant surfaces 5-9 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than untreated plants.

“Climate change, water shortages, and population growth have created the perfect storm for growers around the world,” said David Cope, president and CEO of Purfresh. “Given these dire growing conditions, we decided to take a truly scientific approach to understanding the real problems of solar and water stress on crops and how best to reduce their impact. Purshade is the result of this deep understanding, and simply put, it is an SPF 45 for crops that help growers get the most crop per drop of water.”

According to the research studies, improvements in plant health associated with Purshade’s reduction of heat and water stress were an important factor in increasing the productivity and the quality of a broad range of crops grown across California:

Melons: Research data showed significant increases in the average size of fruits. Large-sized honeydew melons, for example, increased from 11.8 percent of the total untreated pack-out to 18.3 percent of the total Purshade treated pack-out.

California Wine Grapes: Field pack-outs for wine grapes also saw significant improvements. Pinot Grigio grapes experienced a 10 percent increase in average cluster weight and the incidence of sun damage  decreased from 10 percent of the untreated control group to 2 percent with Purshade protection. In Viogner grapes, average cluster weight was 22 percent higher in the Purshade treated group with the incidence of sun damage being only 2 percent, compared to 33 percent on the untreated vines.

Walnuts: Walnuts, which are particularly sensitive to high temperatures, showed an 11 percent increase in yield of marketable meat when treated with Purshade. The occurrence of sunburn was 7.5 percent for the untreated group, while it was only 0.5 percent when treated with Purshade.

“Our goal is to maximize the value of every acre, and we are thrilled that the Purshade trials conducted in California produced such impressive results,” added Cope.  “With Purshade, farmers now have an important new tool for maximizing the utilization the valuable resources.”

Purshade has been tested around the world and across the U.S. in states including Wisconsin, Florida, Texas, California, Washington, Kentucky, Virginia, Arizona, and many others. Purshade is applied to crops using standard spray equipment, including aerial, handheld, and towed. Purshade is also available in a formulation certified for organic production.

About Purfresh, Inc.