Protection against the sun an absolute necessity in Black Sea region
The summers in the Russian Black Sea region are extremely hot. Vegetable grower Vegetables of Krasnodar Krai tested two ReduSol-based strategies to protect its plants, each strategy with its own particular benefits.
‘Every year the heat in July and August causes problems. Due to the extreme heat there is no fruit setting and the bumblebees do not fly. Not only is there a drop in production during these months, but the negative effect runs through into October,’ says agronomist Murat Hutov. In 2020 the entire 30-hectare greenhouse complex was protected with the sun-reflecting ReduSol coating.
Two different concentrations
‘For one greenhouse we applied ten buckets per hectare. For the other greenhouses we used twenty buckets. We decided to do this in June when it was 39°C and the weather forecast called for more extreme heat. However, the forecast did not materialise: the following two months turned out to be mild and cool. In the greenhouse it appeared as if each day was constantly overcast,’ he remembers.
The coating was removed from the greenhouse cover at the end of August.
Murat Hutov
Positive Impact
In hindsight, the effect of ReduSol was positive in all greenhouses. ‘In the first greenhouse – with ten buckets per hectare – production between July and August, with ReduSol on the roof, was excellent. The total harvest per rotation was 59 kg / m2,’ says Murat Hutov. In the other greenhouses – with twenty buckets per hectare – summer production was somewhat lower, the total harvest per rotation was 56 kg/ m2.
‘But due to the excellent protection, the plants in the greenhouses with 20 buckets per hectare maintained their production potential during the hot summer months and then in the autumn, when the selling price of the product has increased significantly, produced excellent results, significantly higher than in a greenhouse covered with ten buckets per hectare.’ says the agronomist.
As a result, at the end of the year, greenhouses with ReduSol concentration of 20 buckets per 1 hectare with a lower gross yield (56 kg / m2) brought greater cash revenue and turned out to be more cost-effective.
Reapplication of ReduSol next season
The farm applied ReduSol with a machine assembled in-house. Four employees operated this machine. ‘ReduSol is very handy and easy to use. In the past we used chalk powder products, but these always caused problems: deposits in the tank and clogged nozzles. The conclusion is clear: we will be using ReduSol again next season. Depending on the weather conditions, we will decide on the number of buckets to be used per hectare,’ says Murat Hutov.
