Abstract
Confronted with severe frost damage to plants, methods, technologies and equipment have been developed and applied during the past century. The paper presents a comprehensive review on the most effective and active technology to protect plants from radiation frost based on air disturbance technology. The working principle of the technology was elaborated with frost protection mechanism, structures and applicability of three types of working patterns: conventional wind machines, selective inverted sink and portable vertical blowing. As an automatic mechanized technology, control strategy, applicable occasion and proper parameters are introduced for each type of working pattern. The operation of the technology and equipment depends on plant critical temperature, prevailing climatic conditions, thermal inversions strength, as well as costs. The frost protection performance and effectiveness of conventional horizontal wind machines, selective inverted sinks and helicopters are discussed and compared from the cost-effectiveness and application aspects, and the feasibility of selective inverted sinks is still controversial. Therefore, conventional wind machines are the best choice for plant frost protection and consequently are widely used in temperate and subtropical areas throughout the world. The frost protection application with helicopters is not easy to use during the frost nights with high cost. The paper also provides researchers with some perspectives on improving air disturbance technology and its equipment, and some practice recommendations for growers. Keywords: thermal inversion, plant frost protection, air disturbance technology, wind machine, cost-effectiveness, control technology DOI: 10.25165/j.ijabe.20181103.3172 Citation: Hu Y G, Asante E A, Lu Y Z, Mahmood A, Buttar A N, Yuan S Q. Review of air disturbance technology for plant frost protection. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2018; 11(3): 21–28.
Highlights
Growers of fruits, vegetables, and several cash crops in severe freeze-prone areas encounter huge economic loss annually as a result of frost damage[1,2,3]
The working principle of the technology was elaborated with frost protection mechanism, structures and applicability of three types of working patterns: conventional wind machines, selective inverted sink and portable vertical blowing
Conventional wind machines are the best choice for plant frost protection and are widely used in temperate and subtropical areas throughout the world
Summary
Vegetables, and several cash crops in severe freeze-prone areas encounter huge economic loss annually as a result of frost damage[1,2,3]. The radiation frosts (hoar frosts and black frosts) are caused by long-wave radiation loss of heat from the ground and solid objects such as grape shoots under clear skies and calm wind conditions[27,28] This develops a thermal inversion layer and air temperature near ground drops below 0°C. For effective and reliable frost protection, a number of active methods such as wind machines, sprinkler irrigation, and open air heaters are used[40]. These methods are implemented just before or during a frost night to prevent ice formation within sensitive plant tissues. Some perspectives on improving air disturbance technology and some practice recommendations are provided for researchers and growers
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