The 5 biggest problems with anti hail net systems

Since the rise of hail nets in fruit growing, there have been many problems with anti hail net systems. Hail net systems have been developed and further developed by various hail net suppliers. Errors and problems with hail net systems cannot be escaped during developments.

What are these mistakes and problems with hail net systems? Read about them below. And as a bonus:1 year of free weekly tips.

Problem 1: Quality of materials

The first hailnet systems on the market were very expensive. After that, more and more affordable versions came along. A major problem with hailnetting systems is that people often look at the price of anti hail net systems and less at the quality of hailnet systems.  

Hail net suppliers who deliberately supply poor quality are a big problem in fruit farming. You can well save a few cents per m2 on nets. 1 cent per m2 is 100 euros for 10,000m2(1 hectare).

Read all about cheap fruit protecting systems here!

Problem 2: collapsing systems

Every year there are reports that hail nets are down by hectares at a time. The damage is enormous! This problem can have many causes. But often there is only 1 obvious cause:

Anchoring distances that are too short. The distance from pole to anchor should be at least 3.0m. Proper anchor spacing is the strength of any hail net system.

Find out more about collapsing systems here!

Disclaimer: There should never be snow on a hail net system!

Problem 3: Working space under a hail netting system

You can't avoid it. Under and next to a hail-net system, there is less working space. Under the system you have to deal with a maximum height for machinery and so on, and outside the hail-net canopy you have to deal with anchors. Do you plant trees in the anchor row anyway? Could that be detrimental to spraying, harvesting, pruning and so on.

Tip: Sow different flowers in the anchor row, this way there is no/less need for mowing and it does biodiversity, and pollination a favour.

Problem 4: to tight hail nets

A problem we used to run the world into: too-tight hail nets. When we designed the world's first 3 rows of systems, we pulled the hail nets as tight as possible. The idea was: if the hail net is tight it won't chafe.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Want your hail nets to last a long time? Give the hail nets enough room to move. This will significantly reduce the wear of the hail nets!

Problem 5: climate

Hail net systems block light, and as you know as a grower: every % more or less light affects cultivation. Increasingly, less light is beneficial. In hot years with lots of sun, it can help immensely against sunburn. Sunburn can destroy a lot, and that can be prevented by hail nets.

But if there are years with very little light, hail nets with a lot of shade can be a problem. Also, evaporation is less under a hail net system than it is outside a fruit canopy.

So growing with a hail net system is a whole new way of growing. Which creates new challenges and opportunities.

Conclusion

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