Tomato Net, the Solution to many Pathogens and Mechanical Plant Stress
The most popular vegetable crop in the world are tomatoes, so it is no surprise that tomato net has become a key element of any grower of tomatoes produced for the fresh market.
Tomato plants need some sort of support or tutoring, therefore a net that will hold its branches in place while growing and holding fruits is essential. HORTOMALLAS® netting allows the tomato branches to grow through the meshes and as the branch is weighted down by the fruit load being grown, the net intervenes as a support and prevents the plant from leaning to the ground and losing the fruit to rot and humidity.
The best trellising or tutoring system for tomatoes (instead of the high labor and high disease transmission prone raffia) is a double wall net whereby the tomato plant is sandwiched between two walls of netting, one on each side of the furrow. This technique will avoid most of the labor contact needed otherwise to guide the plant with raffia twine: the tomato branches grow thru the netting, and as they become loaded with fruits they will start leaning on the meshes of HORTOMALLAS® and be supported, unlike with the use of raffia on the high-wire cropping method where the peduncle will bend under the weight of the fruits and basically choke the fruits from receiving the needed nutrients. Reducingl mechanical plant stress by not touching the plant as much will also increase fruit production as the plant will not have to divert its resources to realign the leaves to the sun!
Overall one can easily infer that the use of tomato netting as part of the growing implements available to the modern grower will reduce the costs associated with each cycle, starting for less labor need to install the trellising system (as compared to raffia twine). Once one is able to reduce the number hands and passes necessary to tutor tomato plants, the farmer may start monetizing the savings in chemicals required as there tomato net sorts two positive effects:
1) the increased air flow, which results from better spreading and supporting the branches, will reduce the propensity of fungal attacks. The improved aeration and solar exposure also means that agrochemical treatments will reach inner parts of the plant, being more effective in controlling insect population.
2) by reducing the number of workers going thru the furrows to prune or tutor by hand the new branches, one reduces the possibility of mechanically spread pathogens, as the hands of any worker will be a perfect vector just like any insect, as white flies.
See the advantage of training vegetable plants
