Anchor distances, post distances and more!

You obviously want to lay out your orchard as optimally as possible, which is understandable. The more trees that can be planted on the plot, the more yield you will have.

Nevertheless, when installing fruit canopies like hail net systems and foil canopies, you need space for anchors and head and side branches. 

In this blog, we want to tell you more about the distances we, FruitSecurity Holland, keep and what happens when you think too easily about these distances.

Anchors for fruit canopies

Anchor distances

One of the most disputed spacing is anchor spacing. And this mainly concerns the anchors anchoring the cross wire or cross cable. These anchors are placed at the edge of the plot and take up space there.

FruitSecurity Holland has a minimum anchor distance of 3.0 metres as standard. Both at the front and the sides of the system. Why do we do that? Because we would like to offer you a strong and high-quality system that can withstand the large forces created during a hailstorm. What a setback it will be when your system collapses, especially when you know that the right anchor spacing could have prevented it.

An anchor spacing of 3.0 metres can offer a tensile strength of 3.0 tonnes! That may sound excessive, but there are also a lot of forces on a system think of a big hailstorm or strong gusts of wind.

Also, using the wrong anchors is 1 of the 4 most common reasons why fruit canopies collapse. Think of self-made anchors, or very simply manufactured anchors.

Anchor types

Besides anchor spacing, the type of anchor is also important.

• In stony soil, we are more likely to choose a Torpedo or Rambo anchor.
  In clay or sandy soils, we will choose the standard screw anchor.

FruitSecurity Holland also chooses a different anchor for each canopy. For a film system, a larger anchor is installed than for a anti hail net system.

The screw anchors are easier to install than the Torpedo or Rambo anchors. So screw anchors are mostly chosen from the market. But make sure you have the right anchor for your soil type.

Here is a video that clearly shows the differences between anchors:

Poles for fruit canopies

Types of poles

Concrete posts, steel posts or wooden posts are all used for fruit canopies or tree support. These three types of posts also have different quality classes. All three types of posts can also be used for fruit canopies.

FruitSecurity Holland mainly works with concrete posts and wooden posts. The concrete posts are from Spinazzè and wooden posts from Carmo. The wooden posts have had a distinctive treatment so that the manufacturer can give a 20-year guarantee.

Important aspects in wooden posts are compressive strength, Torsion, Bending/Elasticity and service life. When buying wooden posts, price is always an important component in this. Posts that are of high quality are naturally also in a higher price range. Nevertheless, this can be cheaper in the long run. For example, if you buy posts with a 20-year guarantee.

Pole spacing

The pole spacing we recommend for the traditional hail netting system is usually around 8 metres. For the flat hail netting system or three-row system, we recommend a post spacing of 3.0 - 3.5m. The Powerflex system or the cherry canopy has a post spacing of 6.0 metres; here too, there are various options and the post spacing also depends on the row width.

If you are curious about the post spacing on your plot, feel free to contact us. The distance between the trees also affects this!

Pole thicknesses

Do you also want to mount the support wires to the posts of the fruit canopy? Then a thicker pole may be chosen. The same goes for a system to be built 5.0 metres high, with this height a thicker post is wise to choose.

Especially with wooden posts, you should not choose posts that are too thin. Unless you are assured that the post thickness has the right elasticity and thus can provide the required strength.

Are you in doubt about an anchor spacing or post type? Do not hesitate to contact us, we will be happy to advise you!