Company says product prevents cold and heat damage to fruit trees, with Rural Development Administration to expand distribution to farms
KCC has developed a fruit tree protective paint called "Supro TreeGuard" in partnership with the Rural Development Administration and plans to expand distribution to farms.
The paint was developed to prevent cold damage to fruit trees in winter and bark heat injury in summer. KCC and the RDA's National Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science jointly developed the product as a government-funded project, filed for a patent on the related technology, and launched it in January.
The two organizations said field verification at farms recently showed the paint outperformed conventional paint in coating durability. "The protective layer formed on tree trunks to prevent cold damage was confirmed to hold up relatively well even in actual cultivation environments," they said.
In September, the RDA and KCC inspected the application of Supro TreeGuard at five apple orchards in Miryang and Geochang, South Gyeongsang Province. The coating crack rate was about 35 percent lower on trunk sections and about 34 percent lower at graft joints compared with standard white water-based paint.
The new product features enhanced heat-reflective, elastic and waterproof properties tailored to the growth and cultivation conditions of fruit trees. A high-reflectance coating layer — with a solar reflectance of 92.1 percent and a near-infrared reflectance of 91.8 percent — suppresses excessive temperature rises in tree trunks during the day. In tests conducted at an ambient temperature of 0 degrees Celsius, the trunk temperature of untreated trees rose by as much as 13.1 degrees, while treated trees saw increases of only 2.6 to 3.5 degrees, the company said.
The paint also features a flexible coating with 120 percent elongation, designed to accommodate the expansion and contraction of tree trunks. KCC added that the coating reduces cracking and peeling, helping maintain protective functions such as sunlight reflection and moisture resistance.
KCC and the RDA said they would ensure the technology "provides practical benefits to fruit farmers as a solution to climate change."
freiheit@heraldcorp.com
