Training plants to Trellis Netting in order to raise produce with less chemicals

HOTOMALLAS Vegetable Trellis saves time and money

HORTOMALLAS® Trellis Netting increases crop yields. This technique is especially useful today with so much climate change since excess rain and humidity can damage a crop in a matter of minutes by physical damage or in the following days by the rapid diffusion of fungus diseases thanks to the moisture trapped between the leaves and soil or by a trench that cannot get enough sun to evaporate the excess water. Getting very much of the home garden or professional crop up on plant netting needs the help and support that only HORTOMALLAS® vegetable trellis can give.

Mesh for staking vegetables for tomato staking — Mesh to entourage HORTOMALLAS® in tomatoes inside a greenhouse. Note how the mesh for the staking supports the weight of the tomatoes and prevents the peduncle from bending and suffocating the filling of the fruit.

In accordance with the crop variety to be grown on a vegetable trellis (determined or undetermined), different heights of plant netting is used. These will vary from from 50 centimeters (20 inches) to 3 meters (10 feet) for use in a greenhouse or shade house. In order to choose the size of the trellis nettingit is necessary to take into consideration that it does not get placed at ground level but at 20 to 40 cm (8 to 16 inches) above the row. For example, plant netting with a height of 1.5 m (60 inches) will allow for a trellis 1.7 to 1.9 m (68 to 96 inches) high and therefore the posts should be between 2.2 and 2.5 m (7 and 8 feet) in length. This would be an example of the ideal size for many varieties of cucumbers out in the open.

entutorado de tomates en campo abierto — Training with HORTOMALLAS® reduces the cost of operations. The mesh is installed with only two people per hectare and can be reused for several seasons.

The ideal size for growing vegetable crops on trellises is the 25 X 25 cm (10 X 10 inch) squares of the cucumber trellis netting. “As opposed to a smaller square HORTOMALLAS® has openings big enough to permit reaching through to prune and train plants without damaging the plants, the fruits, or knocking off blossoms. A worker can work both sides of the row from the side that the worker is on thus using work time more efficiently, saving labor costs, and reducing stress and damage to the plants. Let’s remember that a plant with an abrasion due to daily handling will be subject to attacks by pathogens. Video here

tutor mesh in eggplants tracked during pruning — Note how the operator can put his hands between the HORTOMALLAS® guardrail during pruning and harvesting operations without damaging the plant or causing abrasions.

HORTOMALLAS® is ideal for raising tomato plants on a trellis since this crop needs a good support to avoid having the branches of the plant double over which is what happens without a vegetable trellis. Especially for solanaceae the plant is very susceptible to infestations of plant disease in the first weeks of development. Using plant netting increases the productivity of home gardens and that of growing commercial produce. Contrary to trellis material made from natural fiber which needs to be thrown away after each crop for plant health concerns, using plastic trellis netting makes possible its reuse thanks to better durability than natural fiber and the ease of rolling it up again and storing it. Training to a trellis means the ability to support the produce plant vertically in order to facilitate horticultural chores during the growing phase of the plant and to increase its capacity to defend itself against pathogens found in the produce growing area.

watermelon study

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