That is exactly the right question 

The only honest way to answer it is with a trial of your own. Not a rough impression from spraying a few rows and walking past them during peak summer, but a proper side-by-side comparison that generates real numbers: temperature, sunburn percentage, Class I yield, that you and your advisor can look at together at harvest and decide what to do next. The good news is that this kind of trial fits around what you are already doing. No extra equipment, no dedicated staff, no significant change to your season. Here is how to set it up properly.

Phase 1: Picking the right block 

Where you run the trial matters as much as how you run it. The right block will give you a clear result. The wrong block will give you a result that is hard to explain and harder to act on. Start with the block that already gives you the most trouble in warm seasons. If your packhouse records show that specific rows consistently produce more Class II fruit during peak summer months, that is the block to use. You want to know how Cropshader Orchard performs exactly where the heat problem already lives, not on easy, well-shaded ground.

West-facing rows are usually the best candidates, since they take the full force of afternoon sun when temperatures are already at their peak. Open slopes, blocks with young or recently pruned canopies, and areas where you routinely see pale or brown patches on the exposed shoulder of the fruit are all strong choices. Avoid blocks protected by shade nets on neighbouring rows, since that changes the radiation environment and makes the comparison harder to read. Aim for 1–2 ha total, split evenly between coated and uncoated rows. At least four to six trees per side gives you a stable average; eight to ten is better. Even a compact 500 m² comparison on either side of a central row is enough to see the cooling effect clearly if you measure it properly.

Phase 2: Setting up a fair comparison 

The principle behind any useful trial is simple: change one thing and keep everything else the same. In this case, the one thing you are changing is whether the trees have a reflective coating or not. Everything else, irrigation schedule, fertilisation, pruning, and crop load, has to be identical on both sides. If those variables differ between coated and uncoated rows, you will never know whether the results came from the coating or from something else.Cropshader Orchard is applied at a 1:20 dilution in clean water using your existing orchard sprayer, atomiser, or drone. There is no new equipment needed and no special nozzle setup required. The coated rows get the spray; the uncoated rows get nothing. That really is the only difference between the two sides.

One thing that is easy to get wrong is timing. The coating needs to go on before a heat event, not during one. WSU’s Apple Sunburn Production Guide confirms that proactive application, two to four days ahead of a forecast hot spell, outperforms reactive spraying after temperatures have already peaked. Practically, that means picking a calm, dry day when temperatures are below 30°C and no rain is forecast for at least 48 hours afterward. Applying during or after a heat event is not useful for the trial and gives the product less time to dry and adhere properly.

If you apply around early fruit set, the coating will naturally wear off through rain, UV exposure, and plant growth as the season progresses, so little or no trace should remain by harvest. If you need to apply later in the season, for example ahead of a second heat wave, some visible residue may still be present at picking time. In that case, speak with your packhouse in advance, since most commercial lines with standard washing and brushing equipment can remove this during the normal washing process.

Phase 3: Measuring what matters

A trial without measurements is just a walk in the orchard. What turns it into useful information is recording three things: a baseline before you spray, temperature readings on hot days, and grading data at harvest.

Start with a baseline 

Before you apply the coating, spend thirty minutes on a warm afternoon taking temperature readings on the rows you have chosen. A handheld infrared thermometer works well for this, the same type used for measuring body temperature, available for around €30–50, held about 30 cm from the surface. On both your planned coated rows and your planned uncoated rows, note the air temperature, the fruit surface temperature on the west-facing side of the canopy, and the leaf surface temperature on the same side. Write down the time too, since temperatures shift significantly across the day. Aim to measure between noon and 3 pm when the heat load is highest.

This baseline reading does something important: it confirms that both sides of your trial started from the same conditions. Without it, someone can always argue that the coated rows happened to be in a slightly cooler spot. With it, you have that conversation closed before it starts.

Record temperatures on hot days

Once the coating is applied and a genuinely hot day arrives, air temperature above 30°C, clear sky, low humidity, repeat the same measurements on both sides. Measure at least four trees per side, taking two or three fruit and two or three leaf readings per tree on the west-facing canopy side. If leaf temperature rises a few degrees above ambient, it signals stomatal closure to reduce water loss, limiting photosynthesis. In practice, this makes leaf temperature a direct field indicator of plant stress. The number you are looking for is the surface temperature difference between coated and uncoated rows under identical conditions. In trials across apples, walnuts, olives, and citrus, coated trees have run 3–6°C cooler than uncoated trees. In your orchard, the specific gap will depend on canopy density, ambient temperature, and how evenly the coating was applied.

You get specialist support throughout   

Every free Cropshader Orchard trial comes with guidance from a Cropshader specialist. Before the season starts, they review your orchard details, crop type, variety, heat history, spray setup, and export requirements, and help you confirm the right block and design the comparison. When harvest comes around, they help you read the results and translate temperature and grading numbers into a practical view of what scaling up might look like for your operation.

The whole setup takes less than an hour of your time and happens by phone or email, no site visit required. You can find the four steps, intake review, trial design, application, and results interpretation, at below.

Ready to run your own trial this season?

If Cropshader Orchard looks like a fit based on your own assessment, the next step is simple. Apply online, receive a tailored trial plan from a specialist, run the comparison this season, and let the harvest data tell you whether Cropshader Orchard earns a permanent place in your program. The product is free. The support is included. The data belongs to you.

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