Reflective Particle Films Improve Apple Quality Durham September
16, 2008 Spraying apple trees with films that contain
microscopic mineral particles may improve the color of the fruit
and increase its weight. That's according to Agricultural
Research Service (ARS) research leader Michael Glenn, who is
studying these sprayable films at the ARS Fruit Research Station
in Kearneysville, W.Va. Glenn and entomologist Puterka, formerly
at Kearneysville and now at the ARS Peanut and Other Field Crops
Research Laboratory in Stillwater, Okla., conducted a multi-year
study in which sprayable particle films were installed
strategically in an orchard of Empire apple trees. The particle
film's microscopic layer of mineral particles allows water and
carbon dioxide to pass through the film. With some trees, an
aluminized plastic film (ALF) was applied to the grass strip
between the apple rows. With other trees, a sprayable particle-
based reflective film (PF) was applied to the trees as well as
the grass between the tree rows