The Harvestwear Bin Cover was designed to meet stringent cool chain requirements that stipulate picked fruit must not be left uncovered.
Made from LightBloc, a technically advanced polyethylene cloth which provides insulation from strong summer sunlight, it is capable of keeping fruit temperature below the ambient air temperature—even when the bin is placed in direct sunlight.
During a study in Hawke's Bay over three fine March days, six 400 kg bins of apples were placed on a headland of the orchard and three different fabric covers were placed on alternating bins, leaving an uncovered bin beside each covered one to serve as the controls.
Results from the temperature probes inserted into an apple at the top of each bin every five minutes, showed the covered bins show a far more even fluctuation of temperature, not rising above the ambient daytime temperature, compared to the extreme fluctuations of the uncovered bins.
For more information and contact details, see Tree Fruit March 2015
