Press Room

Press Room Main > Press Release Index > Press Release

Press Release

Melon Growers Beat the Heat and Experience Larger Fruit and Additional Pickings with Purshade

Purshade solar protectant minimizes sunburn and heat stress driving higher value crops

Fremont, Calif. – April 15, 2010 – Purfresh, a provider of clean technologies that purify, protect, and preserve our food and water, today announced that Palmer Farm of Texas achieved a significant increase in the average size of melons and decrease in sun damage using the company’s patents-pending solar stress protectant— Purshade®. The results seen by Palmer Farm of Texas mirrored those from melon field trials conducted in California, which reflected increases from 11.8 percent of the total untreated pack-out to 18.3 percent of the total Purshade treated pack-out.

Melon growers constantly battle the sun—especially as the protective foliage begins to decline just before harvest, when melons are most susceptible. Damage caused by heat stress and sunburn can cost growers as much as 30%–50% percent of their crop. Studies have shown that with Purshade, melon growers have experienced a decrease in cullage, increased marketable yield, and improvements in overall pack-out quality.

“With Purshade, our plants look healthier and less stressed from the sun,” said Mr. Dana Strong of Palmer Farm of Texas. “Using Purshade last season, we experienced a significant increase in fruit size along with additional pickings, which helped contribute to our pounds per acre harvested increase of more than 35% year-over-year.”

Based on superior materials and engineered with Advanced Reflectance Technology™ (ART™), Purshade protects crops from the damaging effects of solar stress. Sprayed directly onto the plant surface, Purshade forms an even, highly reflective layer of solar protection that scatters 85%–95% of harmful UV radiation to reduce sunburn. Purshade also reflects heat-producing IR radiation, keeping the plant 7°–10° F (3–6°C) cooler, which can improve water use efficiency, reduce the incidence of heat stress, and enable basic physiological processes to continue in high temperatures when they would normally shut down.

“The results we’ve seen from crops treated with Purshade confirm that it is a valuable tool for growers to counteract the stress and productivity losses associated with Arizona’s hot and dry growing conditions,” said Mr. Marvin John of Helena Chemicals in Arizona “As a supplier of crop protectants, I’m pleased to offer Purshade with its unique reflective properties along with its ease-of-use formulation to help growers improve returns and produce higher quality fruit and vegetables.”

The Purshade family of products includes a formulation for use on conventional crops as well as a formulation that is approved for organic production by the Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI). The Purshade family of products is locally distributed via strategic partners worldwide. Purshade is applied to crops using standard spray equipment, including ground, aerial and tower sprayers, and is easy to mix, apply, remove, and store.

About Purfresh, Inc.