FROM: Joseph Smith, Manager
DATE: October 12, 2015
SUBJECT: Plans to Save the Crops
With hail on the way this week we have to save our crops in order to be successful and able to have a harvest. Hail is a form of frozen rain. With hail in the climate that means wind, frost, and rain come through and can destroy the winery crops. Wind can be hazardous because if it is too powerful it can knock the fruit off the vines or knock the entire vines all over (Schmid, 2013). Frost kills green tissue on the vines and too much rain can prevent pollination of the flowers or over saturate the fruit (Schmid, 2013). If no actions are taken we can lose our crops and profit.
The World Atlas of Wine, 7th Edition
What can we do to try and protect our crops from the hail storm? Some preventions can be made to protect the crops from getting damaged by the hail. A tent like product can be placed over the entire crop to reflect the hail from actually hitting the vines themselves. By having a tent structure over the crops, it can also protect the vines from huge gusts of wind, ripping the vines out of their place or knocking off grapes. If the tent is built on a conveyer belt structure, the protective structure can be used year after year. Also, another way to help heat up the vines to prevent frost is to have 2 helicopters circling the vineyard to warm the air (MSNBC, 2012). The movement from the helicopter's blades moves the air, warming it due to the friction it causes from the air hitting the helicopter blades. By doing these tactical steps, it can help to prevent damage to the crops.
References
MSNBC. (2012). Vinyard uses helicopters to save grape crop. Retrieved from: http://article.wn.com/view/2012/04/12/Vineyard_uses_helicopters_to_save_grape_crop/
Schimid, Albert W.A., and Laloganes, John P. (2013). The Beverage Manager's Guide to Wines, Beers, and Spirits. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
No comments:
Post a Comment