Orchardists race against early frosts

Icicles protect kiwifruit grower Steve Martin's vines in Tuapiro, near Katikati. Picture / Bay of Plenty Times

Bay of Plenty orchardists are busy stripping kiwifruit from their vines before early frosts damage crops.

Tauranga recorded its first official frost this winter on Tuesday morning, with temperatures dropping to 0C.

Kiwifruit grower Steve Martin told Bay of Plenty Times he has been harnessing the cold to protect his fruit. Martin uses a sprinkler system which spreads warm water over the orchard each morning. The water freezes, covering the fruit in icicles.

"When the principle of how ice forming on fruit protects it from damage was explained to me, I remembered my third-form science teacher saying that freezing produces heat and it all made sense," he told the Times.

"The fruit still has 'give'. It hasn't frozen."