Devastating hail storms may destroy your beer hops
We have heard a lot of news about beer hops suffering from hailstorms. For example, a hailstorm on 20 June 2013 caused extensive hail damage to hops in northern Hallertau. More than 5,000 hectares of hops were affected, with reports of leaf loss and damaged branch tips ranging from 20% to 100% of these hops. The yield loss is expected to be around 3,000 tonnes.
A hailstorm in the Nelson area of New Zealand also taught hops growers a bitter lesson at the end of 2020.
If you grow your own beer hops, a devastating hail storm may ruin your crop. Hail can cause major damage to the delicate plant leaves, making them unable to produce the essential oils that give beer its aroma and flavor.
When you’re growing beer hops, it is important to not only protect them with a trellis system that is built for the purpose but also to protect them from nature’s worst elements. Hail storms are one of those elements. When you have a beer hops farm, you want to make sure that your plants are protected from damaging hail storms. The best way to do this is with a hail netting system that is designed for the purpose.
How does hail netting help?
There are two main purposes for hail netting application in beer hops grown.
The first is protecting the bines from being damaged by the weight of hailstones, especially young, tender bines. Older bines have a larger diameter and are much more resilient to weight-bearing hailstones than younger smaller diameter bines. Since hail netting is much lighter than ice, it can be applied to the top of the bine so that when hailstones accumulate, they are able to easily slide off the hail netting and fall away from the plant. This makes it easier for your plants to grow without unnecessary stress and damage caused by heavyweights of accumulated hail.
The second purpose for hail netting application is early detection of frost damage again primarily on younger tender shoots and buds. The picture below displays frost damage after being hit with light freezing rain which causes similar symptoms as a light frost would cause. This damage can be quickly identified and removed from your plant early on in its life cycle which will help your plant develop a strong framework for future growth throughout the season.
Hail netting is used by farmers, orchardists, and commercial growers to protect their crops from hail storms.
Hail netting not only protects crops from hail damage but also helps to increase the quality of the produce. It acts as a barrier to help reduce humidity and sunburn and it protects against birds and insects that can cause damage to crops. This can result in better-tasting crops, increased yields, higher quality products, and healthier plants.
Get information about the various types of hail nets available for Beer hops.
- Triangle Hail Netting Using Raschel triangles, you can create a hail net that is affordable. Such nets are durable and effective at protecting trees against hail. Despite their lightweight nature, they are incredibly durable. Using raschel machines, the net is extremely productive and has a high production capacity, resulting in decreased net prices, when compared to other types.
- Drape Hail Netting Raschel Drop Hail netting serves multiple purposes and is extremely lightweight. It provides protection from hail and wasps. The selvage is particularly robust. Raschel Drop Hail netting has the advantage of being lightweight and versatile in comparison with other types of netting. In addition, Raschel Drop Hail netting is easy to install.
- Quad Crossover Netting Netting with quad crossovers is a very unique and innovative design. It can also serve as a bird and shade protection in addition to being an effective hail screen.
- Leno Hail Netting Leno Hail Netting, also known as hail netting, is a heavy-duty design that incorporates an innovative design. It is also extremely durable, making it the ideal material for Hail Netting. As the output is small, delivery times are long.
Tips for installations of hail netting for Beer hops
When you choose Drape Hail Netting
Considering the large harvesting machine required for hops harvesting, you can use drape hail netting, a type of net that is easy to install and only needs to be covered with hail netting on the original stand. The hail netting can be removed once the harvest is needed. This does not cause any inconvenience to the harvest.
When you choose Canopy Structures
If canopy structures are used in the installation of hail protection nets, the height of the supports must be ensured. Only stands of sufficient height will ensure that the harvesting machine can be used properly. This is because, as a rule, this type of installation is permanent. These mounts are very strong and these nets do not need to be removed very often. So it is important to ensure that there is enough space for the beer hops to be harvested.
Conclusion
EyouAgro specializes in all types of agricultural protection nets. We are able to supply all types of hail protection nets and the various accessories associated with them. Our hail protection nets incorporate special anti-UV and anti-aging agents and are suitable for long periods of outdoor use.
