The very first affordable automatic foil system for fruit growing!

At the Fruitteelt Vakbeurs 2024 in Houten, FruitSecurity Holland and Fruit Support Europe jointly presented the very first affordable automatic rain canopy for fruit growers. This innovation, which involved years of development and no less than 2.5 years of intensive testing, is a major step for the fruit covering market.

Gerben van Veldhuizen, from FruitSecurity Holland, shared his enthusiasm: 'This automatic rain protection system is the result of years of hard work and accurate testing. Now, after successfully completing the test period, we have started to realise the first plot with this innovative technology in the Netherlands.'

Van Veldhuizen emphasised the wider importance of the new technology for the Dutch fruit-growing sector: 'To remain resilient at a time when the use of plant protection products is rapidly decreasing, we need to find solutions that are as versatile as possible. By opening and closing the rain protection system several times a year, we can have significant impact on fungi and diseases. Properly timed operation of the fruit protection system can lead to decreased use of plant protection products.'

Pieter van Nifterik, of Fruit Support Europe, commented: 'This fruit cover is not only an innovative addition to our catalogue, but also a huge solution for fruit growers. In my opinion, it can help them further in various ways, not only with regard to rain protection, but also for example frost protection and early fruit. The possibilities are promising.'

Advantages of automatic rain cover

The growers who can supply the first cherries will get the most money for their harvest. This makes it important for many growers to get their harvest earlier.

So a cherry grower needs to get his orchard warm as soon as possible in spring so that the blossom starts earlier and becomes a cherry earlier. This can be done by closing the canopy so that the orchard does not cool down at night. A drawback is then that the first spring sunrays are partly blocked by the system.

With an automatic system, the grower could close the system at night and open the cover as soon as the sun intensity is high enough.

Opening and closing a normal rain protection system takes about 40-50 man hours per hectare. So this is not something you do several times a year.

With an automatic rain protection system, the climate per row can be controlled several times a day. Optimising the climate leads to an improved and larger harvest. This results in a higher turnover and a lower purchase price. Crop protection products can be considerably reduced because diseases and fungi can be better resolved with climate control.

In conclusion

We will publish more information about this system soon. Would you like to be kept informed about this innovation? Get in touch!