Orchard protection has become a fundamental pre-requisite. Many club varieties need to be protected against hail, scalding, water or wind. Artes Politecnica is among the leading companies in Italy with a global market.
Example of protection system installed in South Africa using Artes Politecnica solutions
Artes Politecnica nets have been successfully employed in South Africa since 2017. James Reid from Reid&Verwey in Ceres boasts great experience with Italian nets and reports that "hailstorms are increasingly frequent in areas that did not used to be affected by them in the past, and areas that used to get them are experiencing them with more frequency. Scalding is also becoming a more serious problem."
As for scalding, Artes has studied two types of color: Total Grey, a gray shading net that protects against scalding without creating too much shade, and Light Grey, produced using interwoven grey and crystal threads to let through even more light.
Wind is also a problem in South Africa, so elasticated cover systems are preferable. It is better to study specific solutions when it comes to these systems and to only work with professionals.
"Agter Witzenberg has been hit by three big hailstorms in the past 8 years. Considering that one hailstorm in 7 years is alone sufficient to make up for the expense of the nets, we can say that, with three hailstorms, the system practically repays for itself. While it can be expensive to cover new orchards, it is also possible to cover existing ones which already provide yields, and can therefore cover the cost of the investment sooner."
What is more, many new varieties are not self-supporting, so the system of ridge transversal connections boasts great advantages for these crops.
For further information
Artes Politecnica srl
Via Lago Maggiore 10-12
36015 Schio (VI) Italia
[email protected]
www.artespolitecnica.it
Reid & Verwey Cc
Address: 13 Porter St, Ceres, 6835,
South Africa City of Western Cape
James Reid
[email protected]