competition

" We would like to introduce ourselves as a Cold Storage owner from India (you can also click here to watch video clips). We own and operate a cold storage unit exclusively for the storage of potatoes in the heart of India, located at the city of Indore in State of Madhya Pradesh.

Our cold storage was the pioneer in India for using “sprout inhibitors” for the storage of "process grade potatoes" in India six years ago. Since then we have learnt a lot in the storage technology and as a result of which process grade potatoes have now started to be commercially stored in most of the cold storages across India.

As we started to learn about storage techniques and norms of proper storage we started realizing that “RELATIVE HUMIDITY” plays a very important and crucial role in the quality of the stored potatoes. To control the humidity in the storage we tried different technology and machines but every method ended up in condensation of water droplets on the potatoes and the bags which resulted in spoilage and fungal related diseases. To counter the water condensation on the potatoes we were on a look out for a machine or a technology which could prevent this and also provide support to the refrigeration system.

While looking out for this machine we came across an article on the internet published by the U.S. Government which highlighted the benefits of “ULTRASONIC HUMIDIFICATION”. According to this article by this technology it is possible to maintain very high levels of humidity ( up to 98%) with “zero” condensation. Also the energy required to generate this moisture is just 25% a compared to conventional humidifiers. As an additional benefit this technology does not put any “load” on the refrigeration like conventional humidifiers and on the contrary this technology aides the refrigeration by helping in bringing the temperature down without any condensation.

We have used this technology for almost six months continuously whereby we have been able to maintain very high humidity levels (> 95%) without condensation and it has also brought our electrical consumption down and has yielded excellent results in the stored potatoes."

For Chatrakaran Cold Storage P Ltd.

Pramathesh Zamindar.Director

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"... study evaluated the usefulness of an ultrasonic fogging device as a delivery system for low dosages of contact insecticides to manage Bemisia argentifolii Bellows and Perring on greenhouse vegetable seedlings. Insecticide treatments with conventional applicators generally do not reach the bottom leaf surface where whiteflies feed. The objective was to determine if this fogging device could provide good under-leaf coverage and good whitefly control at low insecticide dosages, and was conducted in cooperation with Strauch and Sons, Inc., Bethesda, MD. Six-minute fogging exposures were conducted on whitefly-infested collard (Brassica sativus L.) plants in a plastic-covered greenhouse, and infested plants in a separate greenhouse were used for untreated checks. Residue analysis indicated that a high percentage (76%) of sugar esters from Nicotiana glutinosa L., a biorational insecticide, was delivered to the bottom leaf surface compared with the upper surface (100%). The fogger provided good control (LD90 = 27.0 g ai/ha) of adult whiteflies on test plants with foliar imidacloprid at much lower than the label rate (112.3 g ai/ha). The fogger was operated over various temperatures and humidities, but no influence of vapor pressure deficit was observed on mortality. A wettable powder did not work in the fogger because it clogged the machine. Overall, the fogging device looks promising for managing whiteflies with low dosages of contact insecticide in a greenhouse system, and has a possibility for adaptation for field use. ".

ALVIN M. SIMMONS and D. MICHAEL JACKSON

USDA, Agricultural Research Service, U. S. Vegetable Laboratory, 2875 Savannah Highway, Charleston, SC 29414

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"... the fog produced by the Shira unit has all of the properties of a gas and as such is an ideal vehicle for the transportation and deposition of chlorine dioxide, sanitizing agents in volumes up to 150,000 cubic feet."

"... the Shira Aeroponic Fogger with concentration of Chlorine peroxide (ClO2) at 5 p.p.m. We have experienced substantial bacteria kill on all wall surfaces in a room of approximately 6000 cubic feet."

James Aamodt, President of Fractal, Inc., Wilsonville, OR, USA.

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FROM: The State of Israel
Ministry of Agriculture, Department of Plant Protection and Inspection
Division of Pesticides.

TO: The Sweden Chief Government Inspector Food Control Devision
SUBJECT: Imazalil on Melons

During the past two seasons we were examing a new method of application of Imazalil on melons.
This new application consists of a fogger that is breaking the droplets of the spray into very little drops of about 5m.
The residue of Imazalil resulting in from this method of application are attached.
As you can see, these are very low residues. This method is applied commercially in some of the packing houses and we are now in the process to introduce this method to all of our melon packing houses.
Hopefuly, this will conclude our problems concerning the export of melons to your country...
... Pesticide Analytical Manual, V.1, Sec. 232.4 (FDA). Limit of detection for Imazalil was 0.002 ppm. The determination was carried out by EC gas-chromatography.

The State of Israel, Ministry of Agriculture

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"... I am happy to reiterate that we feel positive about the results of the first testing that was recently conducted by Elf Atochem, Decco's Safepack in Israel. These results have motivated us to plan additional tests. The objective of these tests is to develop our confidence in the fogging system's ability to act as a suitable carrier for the specific active chemical ingredients which we plan to employ in Elf Atochem Decco's worldwide business."

Art Dawson, PhD, Worldwide General Manager of Elf-Atochem, Inc., Monrovia, CA, USA

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"... Free Moisture Definitely Enhances Disease Development"

"...Maintaining the right humidity is a very delicate procedure in storages, requiring constant attention."

Kiran Shetty and Phillip Nolte, Univ. of Idaho, USA

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"...CIPC or chloropropham, one of the most important chemicals in the fresh potato industry, may be approved by the the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s registration criteria in Washington DC...According to Marjori Exton of the EPA, the PICP registration is waiting on complete documentation and classification of eligibility or ineligibility...The EPA has been hard on CIPC or chloropropham. Developed in 1950 by PPG industries Inc., the carbamate herbicide was marketed under several product names...It was used on a wide-range of crops, controlling weeds in alfalfa, beans, blueberries, caneberries, carrots, peas, clover, cowpeas, cranberries, garlic, lettuce, onions, safflower, soybeans, spinach, perennial grass, peppers, potatoes, rice, sugarbeets, tomatoes and on ormamentals...The sprout-control products were purchased by Chevron from PPG Industries...The formulation is also now sold`by Chevron to Decco. Elf Atochem is also a distributor."

Gary Rawlings, Editor of the Potato Grower of Idaho Magazine (December 1994).

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"... we are using Shira Fog-generators to store potatoes. 3000 metric tons of potatoes (var.'Dezire') have been stored in 4 cold rooms (750 tons in each room) since June, at 9°C and 88% relative humidity (RH). On August 17, we found out that the potato quality was low because of softening following insufficient humidity. A week later, a Shira team set up 4 fog generators in the potato cold rooms that produced 98% RH. The potato quality after 2 weeks at this humidity was much higher and measurement of the potato firmness indicated on increased firmness from 52 newtons to 68 newtons (30%). This level is close to the potato firmness beforestorage (70 newtons). The advantages of the foggers is by producing 98% RH without causing any free water on the tubers...
...Today, more than 3 months after the beginning of the storage, the situation is indeed good. Despite the high humidity, there is no wetness anywhere, nor at the base of the pile. Potatoes that were removed from the room for processing that had got wet were still in a very good condition, and there was no wetness in the pile or on the store-room floor...
... The temperature at the commencement of storage was 8.5C and approximately 3 weeks before the end of storage the temperature was raised to 12C to reduce the sugar levels.
...In comparative tests between potatoes in rooms in which the system was operative as opposed those potatoes in rooms that were not humidified, there is a significant reduction in weight loss up to a difference of 3 % over a period of 3 months. In those rooms that were humidified, the reduction was approximately 1.5%, and in rooms that were not humidified 4% or more. Weight loss after 3.5 months in the control room without the Shira Fogger at an average humidity of 88% was 5.4%. The weight saving in this instance was approx. 4%. From an economic calculation, it is possible to calculate the profit to the factory from a non-loss of weight: where the volume of a store-room is approximately 750 tones of potatoes, a 3% loss equals to approximately 20 tones. In financial terms, at today's market price, this is approximately 13,500 Dollars.
Furthermore, it should be indicated that the system was introduced into operation relatively late and the potatoes had already lost weight during the first month and a half, which was partly replaced by the introduction of the foggers. From prior experience and the literature on this topic, over the first month potatoes loose 2.5% of their weight and as of now, after 3 months, we are only experiencing a total weight loss of 1.5%. "

Dr. Uzi Afek and Gershon Miller, Tapud-Tapugan Industries, Ltd., Israel

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"... Thank you for the opportunity to evaluate the Shira Aeroponics misting systems in our research greenhouses. I found the equipment to be very functional, operated without any mechanical problems, and provided and excellent rooting environment for several different plant species. As we have discussed, I feel that with a little investigative demonstrations at the university, we would have a very economical production system for spinach and aeroponic herbs."

	Dr. Thomas Handwerker, Director, Small Farm Inst., Univ. of MD-E. Shore, Princess Ann, MD, USA
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"...Shira Aeroponics Ltd., has recently begun to market several devices which produce a nutrient fog with ultrasonic vibrations of a piezoelectric crystal. This produces a very uniform fog of nutrient solution which has a mean droplet diameter of approximately 10m. In addition, they use relatively little liquid (300-400 ml per hour), eliminating the need for extensive recirculation equipment. Initial estimates suggest that nutrient fog application rates can be tailored to a slight excess over the water needs of the plant material, resulting in a significant reduction in total water and nutrient use as compared with other systems. With an appropriate choice of nutrients, nutrient levels and simple organic chelates, the small amounts of effluent could be sterilized and, where appropriate, discharged directly into existing septic systems."

		Dr. Richard Zobel, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
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We tested the above instrument as a mean of increasing selected tomato plants by cuttings. The cuttings were about 15 cm long, they were inserted into pieces of rock wool and put into the instrument and covered with a transparent plastic lid. The aerosol mixture consisted of a 0.2% commercial fertilizer (NPK=20:20:20 + microelements considered as 100%). Controls were held outside the instrument under similar conditions. ROOT DEVELOPMENT OF CUTTINGS IN THE AEROPONICS WAS ABOUT 10 TIMES FASTER THAN OF CONTROLS, AND LEAF AND STEM GROWTH WAS ACCELERATED 4 - 5 TIMES. In other preliminary trials we observed relatively fast root development in TYLC VIRUS infected cuttings. We are now considering other uses of Aeroponics Module Type FG4 - 48V.
		Prof. Nahum Kedar, Hebrew Univ. of Jerusalem, Faculty of Agriculture, Rehovot, Israel
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"... Various rootstocks are used in propagation of rose (Rosa hybrida) plants. Roots of Rosa indica major, a common rootstock in cultivation of greenhouse roses in the Mediterranean region, were chosen to investigate the effect of pH in the root environment... were rooted in an aeroponics fogger of Shira Aeroponics."
			Prof. Naftali Zieslin, Hebrew Univ. of Jerusalem, Faculty of Agriculture, Rehovot, Israel
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On advantages of Fog-aeroponics Dear Sir, I would like to comment on your system "Fog-Aeroponics Minigreenhouse" which we purchased in March 1990. As part of our research we deal with many wild and exotic fruit and nut trees. Many of them are hard to root and/or data on rooting techniques is unavailable. We have tried to propagate these trees in a misthouse in conventional rooting beds without much success. Upon utilization of your new system we were able to root many species. The cuttings remained viable, turgid and green for as long as we kept them. We did not observe any sign of disease. From our observation, the advantages of the Fog-aeroponics system over the conventional system are as follows: A. The system is very easy to operate B. It is most suitable for rooting of cuttings from species which are hard to root species and/or require a long period root C. This system can also be utilized for seed germination D. It is ideal for ferns E. It seems that the rooted cuttings cultivated by this system produce a better developed root system; this was our experience, for example, with white sapota (Casimiroa edulis) cuttings. A list of the wild and/or exotic species which we were able to root with your system is enclosed. P.S. Our fruit tree research is described in Nerd A., Aronson, J.A. and Y. Mizrahi, Introduction and domestication of rare and wild fruit and nut trees for desert areas, In: Advances in new crops, Ed. Janick J. and J.E. Simon, Timber Press, Portland, Oregon pp-355...

				Prof. Yosef Mizrahi, Ben Gurion U., Beer Sheva, Israel
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REDUCTION OF SALMONELLA CROSS-CONTAMINATION IN HATCHING CABINETS. J.S. Bailey, N.A. Cox, and M.E. Berrang USDA, ARS, RRC, P.O.Box 5677 Athens, GA 30613; and B.J. Buhr, Dept. of Poultry Science, The University of Georgia. (submitted by Dr. Joseph Mauldin) Aerosolized H 2O 2 , gaseous ozone, and UV-light were tested as sanitizers for reduction of total bacteria, Enterobacteriaceae, and Salmonella in hatching cabinets. After 18 days of incubation eggs containing viable broiler embryos were transferred into 4 NatureForm NMC-2000 hatchers. About 1,000 cells of nalidixic acid resistant S. typhimurium were placed inside the egg on the air-cell membrane of 5 eggs per cabinet. All treatments were applied for the duration of the hatch period and included aerosolizing 2.5% H 2O 2 for 30 sec every 5 min or continuous generation of ozone gas at .2 ppm into the air intake of the cabinet, or continuous exposure to UV-light (254 nm) in the cabinet. On the day of hatch, total bacteria, Enterobacteriaceae counts were reduced from > 1,000 cells to about 300 cells with the Salmonella was reduced from 200 cells in the control to 10 in the ozone and UV-light, and none were detected with the H2 O 2 treatment. Seven days posthatch 50 to 70% of the control, ozone, and UV-light treated chicks were Salmonella positive. No Salmonella were detected in the H2 O 2 treated group.


					DAY BHI VRBG BGS+NAL SHELLS 7-DAY CHICKS Control 20 5.5 ND ND 21 19.5 12.5 10 22 TNTC TNTC 278 12 + /12 7 + /10 Ozone 20 1 ND ND 21 49 16.5 0.5 22 119 19.5 2.5 12 + /12 4 + /10 Hydrogen 20 8.5 ND ND Peroxide 21 2.5 ND ND 22 5 ND ND 8 + /12 0 + /10 UV-Light 20 ND ND ND 21 7 30 2 22 230 103 7 11 + /12 0 + /10 ND = None Detected TNTC = Too Numerous To Count BHI = Brain Heart Infusion - aerobic plate count, 2 min exposure over exhaust VRBG = Violet Red Blue Glucose - total Salmonella, 2 min exposure over exhaust BGS+NAL = Brilliant Green Sulfur + Nalidixic Acid + to detect marker Salmonella Shell -> BGS + NAL - to detect marker Salmonella 7 day old chicken intestine -> BGS + NAL - to detect marker Salmonella 5 eggs per hatcher were injected with 1800 marker Salmonella

Dr. Joseph M. Mauldin, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA

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"... As a commercial tissue culture laboratory we encounter very oftendifficulties in "hardening" plants from "in vitro" conditions to "normal" environment. After seeing a Shira-Ultra-Sonic fog cell in operation..."difficult-to-harden" clones showed promising results...."

Avichai Ilan, R&D Rahan Meristem - Propagation Nurseries. Kibbutz Rosh Hanikra - Israel

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"It is my great pleasure to confirm that your 'Ultrasonic Fog-Generator' - Model FG-4 is used in my research greenhouse to my full satisfaction. I found it very efficient for hardening in vitro propagated papaya plantlets which are very gentle and susceptible during the weaning stage."

Dr. Oded Reuveni, Head Institute of Horticulture, The Vulcani Center - Israel

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