Page 11 - Vol.36-No.6 issue

IRRIGATION

by BIORETE® screens, effective in pre- number of “blockies” or “tree huggers”
venting harmful insects from reaching who like to live on the outskirts of the big
crops and causing damage to fruit grow- cities and towns, amongst the trees. We
ing. can’t blame them. It is a wonderful envi-
“Both for those who apply integrated ronment except when the fires come. If
pest management and for those who pro- we learned lessons from last year’s hor-
duce organic – explains Giuseppe Netti, rific season, it’s the need for precautions
agronomist of Arrigoni – our company to be taken before the fire season hits.
is able to offer specific and tailor-made Aussie’s fire survival guide is a good
solutions. Moreover, fruit growing is one start. At least then, the prewarned the
of the most complex categories of agri- homeowner or farmer can take the nec-
culture, subject more than ever to many essary precautions based on the “les-
variables that are difficult to manage. sons learnt” from the past. Australian
With a wide range of proposals and cus- Pump’s Fire Chief and Mr T twin impeller
tomizable solutions, at Arrigoni, we are fire pump really performed in last year’s
now able to respond to many problems fire season. The company produced re-
in the sector”. cord numbers of products, cleaning out
Honda Australia of their firefighting en-
Circle 10 on enquiry card
gines.
FIRE PREVENTION
Compared to the diffusion of treat-
ments without any anti-drift barrier, SAVING THE
Arrigoni’s ANTI DERIVA GREY PRO®
showed a reduction of - 32% of residues URBAN INTERFACE
under the row, - 49% at 3 meters above
the protection, - 90% at a distance of 5 With one million-plus home in the ur-
meters from the orchard.
ban interface around Australia’s major
For its part, ANTI DERIVA GREY® pre- capital cities, it’s critical that we start
sented - 35% of residues under the row, acting now to get prepared for the com-
- 22% at 3 meters above the protection, ing summer. Lessons of last year teach
- 65% at a distance of 5 meters from the us that a combination of global warming
orchard. and consistently higher temperatures
The use of specific artificial protec- means we can reasonably expect anoth- “The production team was magnif-
tions to control the dispersion of mi- er catastrophic fire season from hell. icent! They put hearts and souls into
cro-droplets of pesticides has therefore One company, Australian Pump Indus- getting those pumps built and shipped
proven to be fundamental in drastically tries is preparing to double its produc- promptly. Even after those extraordinary
reducing the problem of residues. Even tion of high-pressure fire pumps and to efforts, we couldn’t produce enough
better results can be obtained by adopt- send out tens of thousands of fire surviv- products to satisfy demand”, said Farri-
ing other practical measures, such as al guides early this year. gia
planning the treatment on days with a “We know that the volunteer brigades “The reason people love our fire
wind speed not exceeding 16km / h and are doing the best they can all around pumps is because of the five-year war-
using nozzles with adequate pressures. the country”, said Aussie Pumps; Prod- ranty and the quality of their compo-
In addition to drift control, further uct Manager, Brad Farrugia. “There’s no nents. We don’t skimp on materials, de-
concern for cherry growers remains way they can contain or even backburn sign, or engineering. We put everything
protection from adverse weather and the huge amount of fuel that survived last we have got into this product because
pest attacks. Again with a view to pro- year’s fires. That fuel load is now bigger we relate to the people whose proper-
moting sustainable and environmentally than ever, thanks to the recent rain”, he ties and lives are maybe on the line”, he
friendly agriculture systems, Arrigoni said. said.
offers PROTECTA®, which introduces The fire survival guide is continuously Circle 11 on enquiry card
a new concept of coverage that guar- updated by Australian Pump based on
antees multiple advantages: reduction the feedback from fire authorities and
of the percentage of water flow; main- users. It shows how to prepare house, ADVERTISE
taining a sufficient passage of air and farm, outbuildings, and even deals with
a good microclimate; high mechanical crop and stock protection. IN THE ARAB
resistance; long life (over 6 years in Ita-
ly); protection from hail, wind, frost, and Properties around powerlines are par- WORLD
sun. Furthermore, PROTECTA ® is a high ticularly susceptible and Ausgrid’s Chief AGRIBUSINESS
tenacity ARLENE DIAMOND® monofil- Operating Officer, Trevor Armstrong
ament roofing system that looks like a said that this year’s bushfire safety pro- MAGAZINE
multifunctional protective screen, capa- gram has more importance than ever. AND PROMOTE
ble of ensuring the good outcome of the Ausgrid are already using two helicop-
harvest: it protects at the same time from ters to patrol powerlines as one of the YOUR
hail, wind, frost, and rain. PROTECTA® most efficient ways to take preventative
SYSTEM then integrates the rainproof action against powerline generated fires. PRODUCTS
fabric with the side protection provided The biggest issue we have is the huge

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