How Kaolin Can Help Farmers To Fight Climate Change?

Last summer was a very difficult season for all farmers around Europe, Temperatures and low precipitation registered in many different countries caused a wide range of new challenges:

• • Reduced plant growth.

• • Water deficiency.

• • Fruits damaged by Sunburn.

The new climatic condition leads to an inconsistent crop harvest due to a reduction in quantity and quality. In vineyard management winegrapes are damaged by physiological stresses and musts obtained produces less quality wines or at least less balanced with high alcohol contents. Other fruits like Apple, Melons, Watermelons are damaged by sunburn causing crop depreciation for growers; in fact the fruit skin is damaged by the high sun radiation.

What’s Kaolin?

Kaolin is a clay mineral, with the chemical composition Al2Si2O5(OH)4, also called “white clay” due to its colour. The mineral can vary the colour depending on Iron content, ranging from orange to white, and it’s used in many industries like tiles, plastic, polymers, and so on. There are many types of Kaolin used in agriculture like calcined Kaolins and natural Kaolin; calcined Kaolins undergo to a high T° treatment allowing the material to become brighter, instead natural Kaolin are less processed and the colour is less whiter.

 

The effects on plants

In agriculture Kaolin is used to protect plants and fruits from high radiation and T°, this mainly due to the white colour, in fact it creates a layer of small white particles on fruits and leaves. This white layer has the ability to reflect radiations and to reduce the temperature perceived on leaves and fruits, protecting plants against sunburn and heat stress. The T° drops a few degrees on plants, generally – 3 to 5 °C .