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Purshade Enhances Crop Quality, Improves Marketable Yield for North Carolina Grower
Solar protectant helps tomato supplier meet customer’s high quality standards

Fremont, CA – June 9, 2009 – Purfresh, a provider of clean technologies that purify, protect, and preserve our food and water, today announced that Cochran Farms in North Carolina achieved a 10 percent increase in marketable yield using the company’s Purshade™ plant protectant. The results seen by Cochran Farms mirrored those from tomato field trials conducted in California and Florida which reflected increases in marketable yield in excess of 8.5 percent. Designed to protect crops from solar and water stress, 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.

“We have built a strong reputation providing high quality tomatoes that meet the demands of discerning customers,” said Kent Cochran, owner of Cochran Farms. “Meeting the toughest standards in the industry requires that I optimize the growing conditions for each and every acre, and Purshade does just that while significantly boosting the value of each harvest by reducing sunburn damage.”

Tomatoes are particularly sensitive to heat and water stress, which contributes to irregular coloring, sunken or wrinkled tissue and other physiological fruit disorders such as blossom end rot and cracking. Purshade was scientifically developed to provide superior protection against the damaging effects of solar and water stress. 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. Growers across the country have found that tomato crops protected with Purshade have increased biomass and less sun damage, resulting in higher-quality and higher-value tomatoes. Purshade’s liquid formula is easy to mix, can be applied with standard spray equipment, and was designed for easy wash off.

“In today’s competitive market, it is critical for produce suppliers to maximize the value of every acre they grow, and even more critical to meet the quality requirements of their buyers,” said Tom Justmann, general manager, plant health group for Purfresh. “The success we’ve seen at Cochran Farms is just further validation that Purshade can be a valuable tool to help growers improve their returns and more effectively compete in the marketplace.”

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