Industry Guide

Apple and Pit Fruit

The apple industry in the Adelaide Hills is where the G2 Vee Trellis System was developed. This system is a more efficient and cost effective option for the region due to the undulating country side, small blocks, and the need to trellis the trees. The Vee Trellis system was designed with built in features to give the growers all the infrastructure they need to grow top quality apples at over 120 ton/Ha., including:

  • A top held trellis that is far stronger than any other trellis on the market. 
  • The apex and bungee system that protects from hail whilst directing it onto the ground in the middle of the row (as shown in picture to the right). This prevents the hail from pooling on the top of the net structure and causing damage. It also allows for cheaper and less intrusive cable infrastructure. The ability to easily unclip the net and roll up the net for pollination and to extend the life of the net and bungee.
  • Full protection from birds and pests
  • 15% shade factor with white net to allow for colouring of fruit. Different shades depending on the fruit colour needed. 

With this system the bungees need to be replaced every 5 years.

Industry Netting Guide - Apples and Pit fruit - Elite Netting
Industry Netting Guide - Citrus - Elite Netting

Citrus

The citrus industry is predominantly looking for the maximum light to ensure colouring is not lessened or delayed. Protection from wind, sun, hail and bees are the main reasons for netting. Flat top structures are the most appropriate for the citrus industry. Using a white net for colour and 20-16mm quad net, depending on the area, gives great protection from hail, sun and wind while maximizing the amount of light getting in. It is also important to ensure wind break net is used around the outsides to reduce wind and maximize pack out. 

Many varieties of mandarins are self pollinating and will remain totally seedless if the enclosure is built to keep out bees. This is becoming more and more common to increase the value of the fruit considerably.  

Benefits include:

  • Increased pack out to up to 90% by dramatically reducing wind
  • Reducing sunburn on severe heat wave events while not affecting colour
  • Eliminating any hail damage 
  • Achieving  seedless fruit in mandarins and in turn increase price. 
  • Saving water. (long-term getting far more fruit per gigalitre used)

Cherries

Being one of the earliest fruits of the season one of the main damaging factors is birds. A G2 flat top, bird net structure is the cheapest option to protect from this alone. Elite netting is best known for our ability to build on difficult terrain and block shapes while minimizing the impact on daily operation with the block and/or minimizing any need to pull trees out. 

Hail during pollination or fruiting can also be very damaging. A flat top white 16-20mm quad net will protect for hail and bird while not delaying the early season fruit more than a week depending on the area. 

The most damaging factor for cherries in some seasons can be rain. We also do offer a solution to protect from rain, hail and birds but this is by far the most expensive option. This is much more popular in a higher rainfall areas such as Tasmania. This option is similar to our trellis release option but using specially made rain covers attached to a trellis release type net. (Note: this option requires rolling up and unrolling every year)

Industry Netting Guide - Netting Cherries
Industry Netting Guide - Blueberries - Elite Netting

Other Crops Commonly Covered

We do a variety of other horticultural fruit and veg varieties. Each type vary in the type of structure we build depending on the market, climate, area, budget and many other factors impact what the optimum structure is. For more information on what the best option might be contact us.

Other common crops covered include:

  • Blueberries
  • Blackberries
  • Persimmons
  • Figs
  • Lettuce
  • Eggplant
  • Stone Fruit
  • Avocado
  • Kiwi Fruit
  • Many More
Netting Systems

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it worth the investment?

For high value fruit crops the answer is simple: Yes. It usually only takes one hailstorm to make the investment worthwhile.  Even without storms the added environmental control increases quality and yield and most examples give a return on investment in 3 to 5 years. The best way to figure out the maths is to talk to contact G2

What is the Netting Infrastructure Grant?

The Netting Infrastructure Grant provides up to 50% funding for eligible projects up to a maximum of $300 000.

For more details : https://www.pir.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/365555/Horticultural_Netting_Infrastructure_Program_Fund_Guidelines_September_2020.pdf  

Should I build before or after planting?

Installing before planning helps plants achieve higher yields faster. Improved growing conditions means higher growth rates in the first years. For many tree crops the time to achieve a good yield is reduced by at least a year. 

What Type of Net do I need?

Different Nets suit different purposes. Tighter weave nets will exclude small pests and provide more shade.  Black net will also provide more shade than white net but reflects less usable light for the crop. 

To exclude birds : Generally 20mm quad net for the roof and bird netting for the walls.  A white roof with black walls provides good performance whilst reducing visual impact from the sides. 

For Hail : 20mm Quad is sufficient to exclude large hail. Some crops are prone to damage from even small hail, and therefore 10 – 16mm quad may be better. The desire to exclude small hail must also be balanced with the shade requirement of the crop. 

For Insects: 20mm quad roof net combined with finer 8mm quad wall nets will exclude the vast majority of bees and larger insects. Fine walls are important as bees generally travel horizontal to the ground at low heights. Although it is possible for bees to pass through a 20mm quad roof net this rarely happens in practice. Finer roof nets are of course more resistant to ingress but in our experience there is not a huge difference in practice.

Do you build Small structures or sell materials for small DIY structures?

No, Elite Netting focuses on installing large commercial structures and unfortunately no longer sells small scale netting supplies or builds non-commercial structures. We can recommend the following companies to help you get your small structure built:

For high quality netting supplies visit JAG (https://jag.net.au/) 

For help with your small construction project in the Adelaide Hills we recommend Rueben (details to come)