Italy: Photoselective anti-hail nets make Fuji apples red

Iridium anti-hail nets from Agritenax have particular optical features able to modify quality and quantity of intercepted sun rays. Red, yellow and blue nets influence intensity and light spectrum and appear to be coloured to human eyes since they mark the percentage of some visible bands in the transmitted light.

Ravenna, Fuji apple trees. In the sequence there are Iridium photoselective pearl, yellow, red nets in repeated blocks.

Pearl nets look bright because they increase the quantity of spread light, reducing shadow areas (see picture above). In addition to this, high colour stability and mechanical resistance (mesh 2,4x4,8 mm and weight 60 g per m2) characterize all Iridium nets.

In Ravenna, since 2010 Prof. Davide Neri from the Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment at Università Politecnica delle Marche has been testing Fuji apple trees in cooperation with Apofruit (Dr. Gianni Ceredi).

Photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) is greater under pearl nets while photosynthesis is significantly superior under pearl, yellow nets than under the black ones (graphic 1).

Graphic 1 – comparison among PAR and photosynthesis under different nets.

Apofruit recorded interesting results in both years: in 2011 there were no differences in maturity because it was an excellent campaign from the climate point of view, while in 2010, thanks to photoselective nets it was possible to harvest more early mature, uniform fruits. In 2011, the average weight was also recorded and it turned out they were heavier.

Ravenna, Fuji apples ready to be harvested; in particular under Iridium pearl and yellow photoselective nets, apples were brighter.

In both years, photoselective nets allowed red apples to be brighter and this difference was significant (picture above). In particular in 2011, when all the fruits were bright red and no product was in the "yellow" category (graphic 2).

Graphic 2 – Increasing of red blush.

Finally, after two years testing Fuji apples, we can conclude Iridium photoselective anti-hail nets, above all in their pearl and yellow colour, are useful to increase apples’ red blush (see picture below) and so make up for the black nets’ main fault.

Ravenna, Fuji apples to be harvested. Notice the red blush colour.

For more information:
AGRITENAX Srl
Via Maestri del Lavoro
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84025 Eboli (SA)
Phone: +39 (0)828 332978
Fax: +39 (0)828 361955
Email: agritenax@agritenax.com
Web: www.tenax.net