A great number of Nadorcott late mandarin producers have adopted the strategy of covering their plantations with anti-insect meshes during the flowering weeks in order to ensure that there will be no cross-pollination with other neighbouring varieties and, therefore, prevent the fruit from containing seeds, which reduces its commercial value.
As is well known, pollination between flowers of different hybrid mandarins or between these and clementines causes the appearance of seeds in fruits of varieties that do not present them if they are cultivated in isolation.
The meshes are similar to those of fixed installations, used in some cases with Nadorcott mandarins, but also with other varieties and crops, like kiwis. In addition to preventing cross-pollination, these also serve to protect the fruit against possible damage from strong winds and hailstorms.
However, a fixed installation requires a huge investment, and in some cases also the development of technical projects and the granting of municipal authorizations. Moreover, according to some expert opinions, it can also have disadvantages, such as the maintenance costs and the fact that in winter the humidity remains for too long inside, which is not always desirable and appropriate for the development of the crop and/or the adequate harvest of the production.
In any case, isolating Nadorcott trees during the flowering period has become the most appropriate option to make sure that future mandarins will not have seeds, which, above all, usually translates into better prices (sometimes 15 to 20 cents more per kilo), which justifies the investment.
Source: lasprovincias.es
