Hail is one of the most adverse weather conditions for fruit growers, due to its often-devastating effects. It can destroy entire crops and put the plants in the condition of not producing even in the years following the event. In recent seasons, thunderstorms with hail have become a constant of all summers.
Arrigoni, a leading international player in the technical textile sector for agriculture, now offers solutions that are not only effective, but environmentally sustainable, calibrated on individual crops and particularly versatile for every need too.
FRUCTUS® is the special line of nets woven with UV-stabilized and high-tenacity HDPE monofilament. These nets are made with Leno weave, that is, made up of two different monofilaments for each warp chain. This particular weave ensures the run-proof characteristics of the net, together with remarkable tenacity and long duration. Equipped with strong lateral and central selvedges, the nets of this range are particularly suitable for the installation in long rows. Finally, the FRUCTUS range nettings are particularly versatile and fulfill the different needs of each anti-hail system.
IRIDE® instead, it is available in the UVA and DUE versions and is an effective range of anti-frost and anti-hail screens, highly run-proof thanks to their knitted mesh monofilament. The range offers nets ideal for covering tunnels, greenhouses and orchards. In addition, IRIDE MULTI PRO ensures the right hole size, thick meshing and robustness, the features that make this net the ideal solution to exclude the harmful Brown Marmorated Stink Bug, even in combination with FRUCTUS range nettings.
The anti-hail systems for the protection of orchards can also be grouped into two types, depending on the plant pattern, the morphology of the land and other important variables. These are the Flat system and the Roof-style system. In the Flat system, the nets are installed horizontally to allow for easy passage of machinery. The relative ease of installation makes it the cheapest system, also for the relative ease of installation. The Roof-style system was the first anti-hail system used to protect plants. The nets are installed at an angle to help the hailstones slide off, avoiding dangerous accumulations that could compromise the stability of the structure.
Arrigoni, to these two basic solutions, also adds the possibility of configuring a special V5 System, which represents an evolution with respect to the Flat system. The V5 was in fact recently developed to solve the problem of hail discharge from the nets. Poles, anchors and nets remain the same as the Flat system, as well as the height of the structure, determined by the longitudinal cables. What changes is the tension strength, reached with an elastic cable between the nets, which thus form a “V” between the rows. In this way, the hail is collected and channeled, which helps its discharge from the nets. The V5 system can also be installed on all types of orchards, with a distance between the rows greater than 3.5 meters and a height of 5 meters.
“Climate change – commented Paolo Arrigoni, CEO of Arrigoni – is strongly affecting agriculture in various countries around the world. Even the intensity and frequency of phenomena such as hailstorms is been affected consequently. In Arrigoni we have long been committed to studying effective solutions to limit and face these new challenges, always respecting eco-sustainability, a principle that guides our philosophy. FRUCTUS® and IRIDE® represent concrete proposals that are easy to apply and are distinguished by their practicality and effectiveness on the most diverse crops, from apple trees, to kiwis, to vineyards, to fruit crops in general”.
For more information: http://www.arrigoni.it/
