smudge pot, burner, usually fuelled with oil, lit in frost-prone parts of an orchard or vineyard on still nights when lethal frost seems imminent to create air convection currents which mix relatively warm upper air with the chilled air settled at ground level. They have lost favour because of the numbers of pots required, not to mention fuel, smoke, lost sleep, and the general inconvenience of operating them in the cold darkness of the early morning. Other approaches to frost protection are available.
