An anti-frost machine to protect fruit from night frosts has once again saved several orchards this year, particularly in the Cuneo area of northern Italy. The machine was built by the Mingozzi Group and has already been distributed throughout Italy and Europe.
One of the users is Maurizio Quaglia from Barge (Cuneo), owner of the farm 'I ciapè Cit', who says: "I am very satisfied with the use of the anti-frost machine. I spent two nights with the machine in the peach and apricot orchards at the end of April 2024. The temperature dropped considerably - as low as 2.5° below zero. I went through the orchard three times, one hour apart, alternating rows at a speed of 6 km per hour. The result was very good. On neighbouring farms where no frost protection was used, some varieties suffered up to 70% damage."
"This is an important opportunity for farmers," says inventor Marco Mingozzi, "but for those in Emilia Romagna the advantage is greater because there is a non-refundable contribution of 70% of the eligible investment costs. Applications must be submitted by 1 p.m. on 6 September, and due to the complexity of the approval protocol, the time available for submitting the documents is short."
"The anti-frost system," explains Mingozzi, "is towed by the tractor and runs on LPG gas contained in commercial drums. The maximum continuous working width is 4.0 metres. In working conditions, the machine can also be towed by the tractor alone, because it is equipped with 400 mm diameter front wheels that can be adjusted in position and height."
The principle used to solve the problem of thermal inversion, which causes frost in plants, is that of heating the air by convection. "The rise of colder air at ground level is caused by convection, which heats the air near the ground in a suitable way and volume," adds Mingozzi. As the air mass at the ground heats up, it expands, becomes less dense and starts to rise. The two air masses, one cold and one warm, converge and rise, a process triggered by the strong heating of the air by the machine on the ground.
The rising air cools down faster than the surrounding air, and at a certain height (above 4 metres), they both reach the same temperature and stop rising.
Source - https://www.freshplaza.com
