Fruit can get sunburnt too: if it soaks up too much infrared, it goes brown.
Farmers often cover whole orchards. A cheaper remedy is now being patented by
Washington State University (WO 00/24264). They mix a thixotropic clay with an
emulsion containing beeswax, then spray the liquid mixture on the crop. The waxy
clay thickens and clings to the fruit, filtering out infrared. Tests on orchards
of apples have cut the incidence of sunburn by 73 per cent.
Sunblock in the orchard
By Barry Fox
12 August 2000
