Nets seem to be the best solution to protect orchards. This was discussed on 26th January 2016 in Verona during a convention organised at Verona Mercato in collaboration with the Chamber of Commerce, professional organisations and the agricultural expert committee.
"Nets were initially used to protect crops from hail, but are now also employed against rain, cracking, insects (Carpocapsa, Drosophila and brown marmorated stink bug) and birds. In addition, coloured nets can also improve the quality of the fruit," explained agronomist Michele Bravetti.
Bravetti illustrated the data of Iridium photoselective nets. "They can modify both the quantity and quality of sunlight thanks to different levels of shading and to the effect they have on spectrum and wavelengths."
Traditional black nets, while limiting the damage caused by sunburn, affect fruit colouring and delay ripening. Neutral (white) nets improve colouring but do not protect plants against sunburn and are less tolerant to mechanical stress.
A test carried out in Sermoneta (Latina) showed that kiwis (of the golden variety) cultivated under yellow nets have a significant increase in dry matter content after harvesting.
Another test carried out on green kiwis in Aprilia (Latina) showed how yellow nets had a positive effect on the number of fruits per tree (728 against the 500 under neutral nets) and dry matter content (15.5% against 15%).