[apple-crop] Research

2016-04-19 Thread Hugh Thomas
A couple of ideas for you PhD/research types. How about using UV light to kill frost nucleating bacteria, or UV to kill the fire blight bacteria? A light bank could be towed behind a tractor and the trees could be irradiated by UV light. ___ apple-crop m

Re: [apple-crop] Research

2016-04-19 Thread David A. Rosenberger
UV light does not penetrate surfaces, so it could only kill what is on the surface and only what receives the required UV dosage. Any bacterial in shadows created by limbs, leaves, branches, or flower parts would remain untreated, and in the case of fire blight, the rapid multiplication of the

Re: [apple-crop] Research

2016-04-19 Thread Hugh Thomas
Light radiation falls off at an inverse square, and I'm assuming and orchard like mine, a fruiting wall that would only be about a meter in thickness. Because the light would be traveling through the orchard, and the trees out of leaf, I'm guessing the shadows would be covered. Supposing the UV req