Maintenance of fruit canopies for longer life span

Imagine: Five years ago, you invested €60,000 in a canopy to protect your orchard and fruit from weather conditions such as (extreme) rain, hail, sun, insects, birds, and frost. You opted for a hail net protection system or rain cover. However, over time, every fruit protection system undergoes wear and tear. The annual opening and closing, the wind, and sometimes an extreme summer storm contribute to this. Therefore, regular maintenance of your fruit protection system is crucial. This maintenance directly affects the lifespan of the system and prevents wear and collapse. But what exactly should you look out for when maintaining hail nets and rain covers? And which tasks can you do yourself and which are better outsourced? In this blog, I'll describe all the factors and provide tips to prevent wear and tear on your fruit protection system.

Why is maintenance of a fruit protection system necessary?

Performing maintenance on your fruit protection system is essential. Just as you regularly have your car checked to prevent damage and accidents, your fruit protection system also needs care. By performing timely maintenance, you can sometimes prevent repairs. This principle also applies to fruit protection systems. Moreover, more and more insurance companies are hesitant to insure canopies because they have no insight into their maintenance and lifespan. By ensuring proper maintenance, you significantly reduce the risk of damage and accidents. Want to read more about collapsed fruit protection systems and where it goes wrong? Then read on here. 

When should maintenance be performed on a fruit protection system?

It is crucial to perform maintenance on your fruit protection system at the right time. Since no system is resistant to snow, fruit protection systems are rolled out every year at the beginning of the season and rolled up in winter storage after the fruit has been harvested. Rolling your hail net or rain cover not only protects against snow but also extends its lifespan. It is best to perform maintenance on your fruit protection system when you unroll and roll up the system. During this process, you're already driving with a aerial platform through the rows of trees in your orchard, and you have the hail net or foil within reach.

How to perform maintenance on a fruit protection system?

Establishing a good foundation is essential when constructing your fruit protection system. Therefore, opt for a robust system with the right poles, distances between the poles, and anchor spacing. This minimizes the need for maintenance compared to other fruit protection systems. Additionally, check all points of your hail net or rain cover. Below is an overview or checklist for maintaining your fruit protection system.

1.Concrete or wooden poles

When performing maintenance, it is essential to replace broken or rotten poles. Wooden poles of lesser quality can quickly rot. Broken concrete poles also pose a danger to your fruit protection system. These can often be repaired without replacement, using special repair kits from FruitSecurity.

2. Tension

Check all wires and cables for tension annually. If there is insufficient tension, you should tighten them. Using our tensioning tool makes this process easier.

3. Anchors

Over the years, space may develop around the anchors in the ground, especially during heavy rain. Therefore, regularly check the anchors and their stability in the ground.

4. Hail nets, insect nets

Repairs to nets, such as hail nets and insect nets, can be easily performed. Over time, these nets can become damaged due to age, strong winds, or exposure to the sun. It is essential to repair any starting holes and tears immediately to prevent further damage.

Hail nets and insect nets can be repaired in different ways:

• Net sewing machine (type: RJW122). With a hand sewing machine, you can easily make repairs to hail nets and insect nets. With a hand sewing machine, you can sew nets together, as well as repair tears or attach an extra piece of repair net to the nets so it is one whole piece of net again.
• Connection clips Has a larger hole already appeared? Then take a piece of hail net or repair net and clip it into the hole with connection clips. Then the hail net or insect net also becomes one whole piece of net again.

5. Foil (rain protection systems)

Repairs to woven foil or tunnel foil are also relatively easy to perform. However, foil is even more susceptible to storm damage than hail net. Starting holes and tears should be repaired immediately to prevent further damage. Use a hand sewing machine or foil repair tape for this.

Repairs to hail nets, insect nets or films are never optimal. But with the use and help of some right materials, your fruit canopy can stand up to protecting your crop again! So when you're rolling up, it's always handy to carry extra sticking nets, clips, repair net, foil repair tape and pins with you on the aerial platform. If a repair is needed, you can make it immediately.

How much maintenance is required for a fruit protection system?

The required maintenance level for your fruit protection system may vary. By regularly checking your fruit protection system during the rolling process, you can prevent many major repairs or damages. Our advice is to thoroughly check and maintain your system at least once a year, significantly contributing to the lifespan of your fruit protection system.

Who can perform maintenance on your fruit protection system?

While many repairs can be done yourself, it can be challenging to know where to start. FruitSecurity Holland offers a system check to extend the lifespan of your system. This check includes, among other things, the construction, the quality of foil, hail net, and insect net, and resistance to weather conditions. Based on this check, you will receive advice on how to extend the lifespan of your fruit protection system. FruitSecurity Holland can also perform repair work around the maintenance needs. FruitSecurity Holland will come and check your hail net system or foil canopies on the following points:

• Construction;
• Quality of foil, hail net and insect net;
• Resistance to weather conditions.

You will then receive FruitSecurity advice on how to increase the lifespan of your fruit canopy. FruitSecurity Holland can also carry out maintenance work around repairs. Request a system check here!

In conclusion

Take good care of your fruit protection system with a hail net or foil to ensure a good harvest. It is recommended to plan maintenance during the rolling process of the fruit protection system. A hail net or rain cover is an investment for years, and it is vital that your fruit protection system functions flawlessly and protects your fruit when sudden adverse weather occurs.