Crop netting
Hail and sunburn decide how much of a pome fruit crop makes export grade. Under net, growers report higher pack-outs and far less sunburn.
What the research shows
The sunburn of open orchards: 9.3% of fruit under net vs 19.8% in control orchards, Elgin area trials.
Source: Two-a-Day trials, via Farmer's Weekly
Pack-out under net reported by a Langkloof grower, against about 57% for open-grown Granny Smith.
Source: Langkloof grower, Undercover Farming
Less water used by netted apple trees, as evaporation drops.
Source: Queensland DPI, via Good Fruit Grower
Netting has trade-offs on pome fruit: light under the net drops by roughly 13–24%, and some red-blushed pears lost colour under black net. Net colour and shade level matter.
What a net does
Questions
It can. One Langkloof grower found Forelle pears lost colour under black net, and white net is generally better for colour if tree vigour is controlled.
It depends on your hail risk and crop. One Langkloof grower reported paying back a 63 ha installation within a year; others take several seasons.
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White River, Mpumalanga, 1240
