[Report] "Thanks to Bangsangpan, No Apple Cold Damage for 9 Years"

Chungnam Yesan 'Sangho Farm'
Zero Cold Damage Since Installing Bangsang Fans in 2015
Nearby Naepo Farm Prevents Cold Damage with Micro Sprinkler System

Sangho Farm in Yesan, visited on the morning of the 4th. A total of 8 insect fans are installed in the 1.4-hectare orchard. (Photo by Joint Press Corps)

"After suffering cold damage in 2014, we installed wind machines the very next year. Since then, we haven't experienced any cold damage for nine years. Last year, we also greatly benefited from the wind machines."

On the morning of the 4th, we visited Sangho Farm, an apple orchard located in Yesan, Chungnam. Light green flower buds were growing on the apple trees.

Park Cheol-shin, the owner of Sangho Farm who has been farming apples for 35 years, explained, "The apple blossoms are expected to be in full bloom around the 20th, about two weeks from now. This is the most critical time to assess whether cold damage will occur."

The 1.4-hectare apple orchard is equipped with a total of eight wind machines. After a sharp drop in production due to cold damage in 2014, Mr. Park installed wind machines the following year. Since then, Sangho Farm has not suffered cold damage for nine years, up to last year.

Wind machines are a type of large fan installed about 7 to 8 meters above the ground. They activate when the temperature drops to 2 to 3℃ or below, typically running from around 3 to 4 a.m. when temperatures are lowest in spring, and stopping before 9 a.m. They blow the relatively warmer air from the upper layers downwards to prevent the orchard's temperature from dropping. This strong wind blows away frost settling on flower buds or ice forming on them. The eight wind machines circulate air throughout the orchard to reduce cold damage. When the wind machines were manually operated that morning, the wind could be felt about 20 meters away.

On the morning of the 4th, Park Cheol-shin, CEO of Sangho Farm, is explaining apple cultivation to reporters. (Photo by Joint Press Corps)

Mr. Park said, "If cold damage prevents flowers from blooming properly, the branches grow excessively tall and weak, leading to damage the following year as well. If cold damage ruins the crops for two consecutive years, the losses for farmers snowball."

Although wind machines are an important facility to prevent cold damage, their nationwide adoption rate remains very low due to high installation costs. Among the 1,230 apple farms in Yesan County, only about 20 have installed wind machines.

An official from Yesan County stated, "Last year, one apple farm saw production drop by about 60% due to cold damage and pests, so the damage to apple farms in Yesan was significant. While wind machines are very effective in preventing cold damage, the installation cost is a heavy burden, so many farmers have not dared to install them yet." The installation cost for wind machines is about 20 million KRW per hectare of orchard, and even with national and local government subsidies, farmers must bear about 10 million KRW. Hot air wind machines, which blow heated air using a heater, cost an additional 5 million KRW to install.

In response, the government announced on the 2nd, through the "Measures to Enhance Competitiveness in the Fruit Industry," a plan to increase the adoption rate of cold damage prevention facilities such as wind machines, micro-sprinklers, and rain shelters from just 1.1% of the total cultivation area in 2022 to 30% by 2030.

Nearby, Naepo Farm was preventing cold damage using micro-sprinkler systems. Micro-sprinklers spray water on the trees, and as the water freezes into ice, the latent heat released prevents the temperature of the tree tissues from dropping. Mr. Lim Chun-geun, the owner met at the orchard that day, explained, "When the temperature drops, spraying 13℃ groundwater on the apple trees causes the flower surfaces to freeze, but the inside remains at 0℃, preventing cold damage. Also, during summer heatwaves, the micro-sprinkler system lowers the temperature and protects leaves and fruit from sunburn caused by strong sunlight."

On the morning of the 4th, a worker is working at Naepo Farm. (Photo by Joint Press Corps)

Naepo Farm has also been experimenting with the latest apple cultivation method called 'multi-axis cultivation' for five years. Generally, apple trees are grown in a conical shape with a single main trunk, but multi-axis cultivation involves growing two or more main trunks (axes) vertically on a single rootstock. As the number of trunks increases, the trees become shorter and the length of small branches decreases, allowing the trees to be grown in a wall-like form. Mr. Lim said, "Because the trees are grown in a wall shape, the space between trees widens, making mechanization easier and pesticide spraying more efficient. In fact, multi-axis cultivation has tripled fruit set and significantly reduced the rate of fruit damage caused by branches or apples bumping into each other."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.