A persimmon wrapped in a hail net ripens in an orchard

 It is difficult to accurately calculate the proportion of the orchard economy in the global agricultural GDP, but from the continuous expansion of the global orchard area (such as the global orchard area increased by 36% from 1990 to 2019) and the increase in fruit production and trade volume, the orchard economy occupies a certain proportion in the agricultural GDP and is on an upward trend, which has made a positive contribution to the growth of the agricultural economy.          

 What obstacles are likely to occur before an orchard has a good harvest?

Before the orchards have a good harvest, fruit farmers often face challenges from multiple natural factors, such as extreme weather attacks
Heavy rain/floods: Continuous rainfall during the fruit expansion period may cause root hypoxia, fruit drop or cracking (such as grapes and cherries), and may also cause root rot.
Drought/high temperature: Long-term drought and no rain will cause fruit development to stagnate, mature prematurely or sunburn (such as citrus and peaches), and leaf wilting will affect photosynthesis.
Typhoon/strong wind: Orchards in coastal areas may break fruit branches and blow fruits (such as lychees and longans) due to strong winds, and even damage trellis facilities.
Low temperature/frost: Late spring cold/early frost during the spring flowering period or before autumn harvest may freeze the stamens or young fruits (such as apples and pears), resulting in reduced production.
Infectious diseases of fruits: fungal diseases, bacterial diseases, viral diseases
Fruit-boring pests: larvae of peach borers, pear bees, etc. drill into the fruit to feed, causing "worm-eye fruit";
Fruit flies (such as Mediterranean fruit flies) lay eggs in the fruit, which cause rot after hatching, especially threatening tropical fruits (such as mangoes and guavas).
Sucking pests:
Aphids, leafhoppers, etc. suck juice and spread viral diseases (such as apple yellow aphids spreading mosaic virus), and secrete honeydew to cause sooty mold, affecting the gloss of the fruit.
Weeds will also compete with plants
Before the harvest, weeds will compete for soil nutrients and water. Especially in rainy seasons, the rampant growth of weeds may increase the humidity in the orchard and induce diseases (such as strawberry gray mold).

The use of hail net in orchards

Hail Net is an important tool for disaster prevention in orchards. It forms a high mesh structure by building pillars above the fruit trees, becoming a physical protective barrier. Its use in orchards is mainly reflected in three aspects: direct disaster prevention, extended benefits and comprehensive management optimization:
Hail Net is usually made of polyethylene (PE) or nylon, with a mesh size of 4-8 mm. It can intercept hail with a diameter of 5-30 mm, greatly attenuate its kinetic energy, avoid direct damage to fruits, leaves and branches, and physically block the impact of hail.
The wounds on the peel caused by hail are prone to fungal and bacterial infection. Hail Net can reduce such mechanical damage, indirectly reduce the cost of plant protection in the later stage, and reduce the risk of pests and diseases.
The branches injured by hail may cause winter frost damage or hinder budding the following year. Hail Net can protect the health of the tree, maintain long-term stable yield, and achieve the effect of protecting the tree structure.

During high temperatures in summer, hail nets (especially light-colored or sunshade nets) can reflect some sunlight, lowering the temperature of the orchard by 2-5℃, reducing fruit sunburn (such as grapes and peaches) and leaf high temperature stress, and can adjust the temperature in a small range.
The mesh structure weakens wind speed and reduces soil moisture evaporation. It can save 15%-20% of water and reduce water evaporation when combined with a drip irrigation system.
The aperture of the hail net is smaller than the width of most birds' beaks (such as sparrows and gray magpies), which can prevent them from pecking at ripe fruits (such as common bird damage to cherries and blueberries in orchards), replacing traditional short-term measures such as reflective film and bird repellent to prevent birds from pecking.
Fine mesh can intercept some large pests (such as beetles and longhorn beetles), reduce their gnawing on new shoots and young fruits, and play a certain role in insect prevention.
Avoid hail damage to form "scar fruit", increase the appearance compliance rate of fruits by 30%-50%, and significantly improve the premium ability of high-end markets (such as gift fruit and export fruit).
The protected fruits can prolong the fruit-bearing period, wait calmly for the best harvest period, avoid the problem of insufficient sugar content caused by early harvesting due to hailstorms (such as kiwifruit and citrus), and ensure the uniformity of fruit maturity

One-time investment, many years of benefits: the service life of hail prevention nets is usually 5-10 years (high-quality products can reach 15 years), and the average annual cost is about 200-500 yuan/mu (depending on the net material and construction method).
Risk hedging benefits: In areas where hailstorms occur frequently, the loss of a single severe hailstorm may reach tens of thousands of yuan per mu. The hail prevention net can reduce such extreme losses to almost zero, significantly improving the stability of orchard income in the long run.
Replace traditional means such as chemical agents or artificial hail driving (such as rockets), reduce environmental pollution and labor costs, conform to the trend of organic agriculture and green production, and promote ecological friendliness and harmony between man and nature.
Some areas have combined hail prevention nets with photovoltaic facilities ("photovoltaic hail prevention sheds") to realize a three-dimensional agricultural model of "generating electricity above and growing fruit below", improving the comprehensive utilization rate of land and achieving eco-friendly disaster prevention measures.

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