Crop production and quality optimisation specialist Agroasa has announced that the use of Purshade, the solar crop protectant developed by US-based Purfresh, is now spreading throughout the Dominican Republic as growers experience greater yields, reduced labour costs and increased water efficiency.
According to Agroasa, Purshade is now being used on multiple crops in the country, including peppers, tomatoes, avocados, mangoes, pineapples and bananas, with adoption of the product continuing to expand.
Based on advanced reflective technology, Purshade helps to reflect harmful wavelengths of solar radiation such as ultraviolet and infrared, while still allowing transmission of sufficient sunlight for photosynthesis.
'With the protection of Purshade, growers have experienced increases in biomass production and improvements in crop quality characteristics, including size, colour, and weight, resulting in higher-quality and higher-value crops,' said Abel Lopez, manager of Agroasa. 'As a supplier of crop protection products, we are pleased to offer Purshade conventional and organic solutions to our growers to help them maintain the high quality of crops grown in the Dominican Republic.'
Peter Urena, vice-president of Dominican Republic-based pineapple grower Buena Tierra, explained that the introduction of Purshade had led to a 90 per cent reduction in solar damage.
'We are in our second season of using Purshade on pineapples, and in addition to the UV and IR protection, the coverage and ease of use of the product has permitted us to eliminate the labour-intensive process of covering each fruit in the field, allowing us to utilise our time more effectively.'
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