Microwave Technology to Protect Ontario’s Grapes from Cold
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The Vineland Research and Innovation Centre in Southern Ontario will be moving forward with its plans to test a pilot project that would use low-level radio waves in order to protect fruit crops from damage caused by frost and freezing. The Research Centre, located in the wine-producing Niagara region, made an announcement stating that it will be installing a prototype version of the technology, known as the Tempwave system, in the vineyard at the centre.
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The Tempwave system will emit microwaves that alter the energy balance in the air to slow down cooling. Mounted on towers, the system emits the waves across orchards or vineyards. By slowing down cooling temperatures, damage by frost or freezing is averted.
According to representatives from Vineland, the prototype technology will hopefully provide a way to protect Ontario’s orchards and vineyards from lost production when temperatures fall below freezing, by protecting vulnerable fruit and grape from fast freezes. Should the pilot project prove successful, Ontario – and Canadian – farmers will be able to look forward to an effective tool for fruit production in cold temperatures.
The Tempwave system will be installed at Vineland by its manufacturing company, Raytheon. The system will be prepped for operation and used for a four-month period, with support from Raytheon during the initial testing.
Raytheon sees the installation of the Tempwave system at Vineland as part of a bigger project, called “Mission Innovation,” to develop technology that can meet a variety of global challenges, including defense challenges, homeland security, and other technological needs at the government level. Through its partnership with Vineland, said Raytheon in a statement, the company promises to bring its radio frequency application expertise to the aid of the Vineland research center’s mission to develop new and innovative technologies in horticulture, and to address existing horticulture challenges in new and more efficient ways.
Some of the funding for Vineland’s microwave project has been provided by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, as well as by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. That funding has been made possible by the federal government’s agricultural policy funding framework, the Growing Forward program, under the Innovation and Science suite.
