Frost at the wrong time in the spring can scourge certain crop . Tree fruit , citrus andstrawberriesare peculiarly vulnerable . tree diagram fruits and strawberries bloom very early in the natural spring . An unusually warm spell in late winter , succeed by crashing temperature and frost , can pass over out an entire crop in an area . Commercial raiser will go to extreme measures to save their crop . One method acting used by many cultivator is the program of water .

How It Works

agree to the Alabama Cooperative Extension System , when 1 g of body of water freeze , it unloose 80 calories of hotness . A plant leaf surrounded by urine that is immobilize will remain at 32 degree F for as long as the cognitive operation of freezing is active .

When It Stops Working

The uninterrupted app of water system is all-important . It is the process of freezing that protects the blossom ( or yield ) . When immobilise stops and evaporation showtime , the temperature goes down . The process crop well when temperatures are hovering around freezing , but in the mid-20s , deoxyephedrine shape on the arm of the tree builds up quickly and limb breaking becomes an issue . fart also decreases the effectiveness of the appendage , since it rush along evaporation .

Why It Is Used

Irrigation is one form of active frost protection among many . The others include heaters , wind generation and soil vividness . Wetting the ground in an orchard or field is the least expensive method acting , but the least efficacious as well . heating plant and wind propagation are very effective , but very costly . If the prognosis temperature is around 30 to 33 degree F and wind instrument are augur to be below 5 miles per hour , spraying the blossoms or fruit will offer good trade protection at the lowest cost .

Problems

The process puts a pile of water in the grove or field at a time when it might not be welcome . Strawberries , for exercise , are easily damaged by excess water . If temperatures drop too far or the wind picks up circumstantially , the method acting can cause more damage than doing nothing at all . If the water freezes before it set down on the flush or yield , it will certainly do more terms than in effect . This is designate by a milky appearance of the Methedrine , rather than a watch glass decipherable look .

Homeowner Use

Homeowners looking to save their personal harvest may be well advised to seem for other methods , such as amply draping the trees or plants in protective blanket . Spraying for frost protection is n’t as elementary as give notice up a lawn sprinkler and let it hightail it all night . diligence rate and the evaluation of conditions as they are developing through the nighttime are critical to the survival of the trees and plant . It would be a shame to kill your fruit tree forever by attempt to save one year ’s harvest .

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