Press Room

Press Room Main > Press Release Index > Press Release

Press Release

Purfresh Announces Availability of Purshade Crop Protectant in Chile

Purshade family of products enhance quality and improve marketable yield for organic and conventional growers around the globe

Fremont, Calif. – Oct. 15, 2009 – Purfresh, a provider of clean technologies that purify, protect, and preserve our food and water, today announced that Purshade®, a family of unique products scientifically engineered to protect fruits, vegetables, and other crops from harmful solar and water stress, is now available in Chile. Depending on the commodity, the region, and the seasonal climate, growers may lose between 20–40 percent of their crop to sun damage. With the protection of Purshade, growers have experienced increases in biomass production and improvements in crop quality characteristics, including size, color, and weight, resulting in higher-quality and higher-value crops.

According to replicated field trials and research studies, improvements in plant health associated with Purshade’s reduction of solar and water stress were an important factor in increasing the productivity and the quality of a broad range of crops grown around the world. Apple growers have experienced as much as a 15–25 percent improvement in returns with Purshade solar protectant. Walnuts, which are particularly sensitive to high temperatures, showed an 11 percent increase in yield of marketable meat when treated with Purshade. Growers of Pinot Grigio grapes experienced a 10 percent increase in average cluster weight, and the incidence of sun damage decreased from 10 percent of the untreated control group to only 2 percent with Purshade protection.

“Organic and conventional growers have been looking for a simple, clean, and powerful way to protect their crops, enhance harvest value, and deliver more marketable produce,” said Mr. Tom Justmann, general manager, plant health group for Purfresh, Inc. “The results of worldwide trials and research studies validates that Purshade can be a valuable tool to help growers improve their returns more effectively in today’s competitive market.”

Purshade was scientifically developed to provide superior protection against the damaging effects of solar and water stress. Based on patent-pending Advanced Reflectance Technology™ (ART™), Purshade reflects harmful wavelengths of solar radiation such as ultraviolet (UV) and infrared (IR), while allowing transmission of sufficient sunlight for photosynthesis. Laboratory results show Purshade reflects as much as 90–98 percent of harmful UV radiation, and has been shown to keep plant surfaces 4–6 degrees Celsius cooler than untreated plants. The Purshade family of products includes a formulation for use on conventional crops as well as a formulation that is approved for organic production by the Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI) of the United States of America and the Institute for Marketecology (IMO). The liquid formulations are easy to mix, can be applied with standard spray equipment, and were designed for easy wash off.

“We are always looking for effective products like Purshade and its organic equivalent, Purshade-O," said Mr. Alejandro Ochagavia of GMT. "We have found the products provide superior and environmentally-friendly weather protection that leaves no residue after post-harvest processing. These qualities and its competitive price enable our growers to compete with countries around the world. As a supplier of crop protection products, we are pleased to offer the Purshade family of products to our growers to help them maintain the high quality of fruit grown in Chile."

About Purfresh, Inc