The use of HORTOMALLAS plant support for trellising vegetables.

Trellising vegetables is the method that uses an espalier to sustain the crops so they don’t lean on the soil.

There is evidence that trellising vegetables increases the yield, enhances quality and optimizes the cultivation area.

It is an established technique that traditionally applies wooden or bamboo poles and raffia.

Although raffia is very popular it is not as effective as trellising plastic net. Trellis net is much more resistant, practical and economical. You can tutor even melons within an espalier made out of trellising net. Moreover plastic net comes as an entire roll, and the squares are manufactured by a bi-oriented extrusion process. So in case one of the square mesh brakes, the all structure does not fall down as it happens if you use raffia. Also raffia attracts more bacteria and fungus because it is made of textile filaments. Plastic net does not have any slit where bacteria can hide and survive to the cleaning and disinfection operations. Raffia can suffocate the fruit pedunculus because it is not strong enough to stand the weight of the crop.

Building a tutoring structure with rafia needs a lot of labour. On the contrary, installation is very easy and fast if you use a trellising net. In fact you just have to enroll, place and fix the net over the poles.

Reducing workforce is not just a matter of lowering the costs of the installation. It also prevents many virus to spread among the cultivation. In fact the hands can be a vector, like mosquitos or flies, that conveys virus, for example Tobacco mosaic virus, which is very aggressive and cause important production losses.

Climbing vegetables naturally grab the trellising net

Many commercial crops that naturally are climbing vegetables are suitable to get benefit out of applying the trellising method: tomatoes, pole beans, peas, melons, cucumbers, squash and pumpkins.

Tutoring the crops to grow vertically instead of lying all around not only prevents the fruits to touch the ground and so they don’t rot. This method also permits to produce more in less space. Some varieties can be very high and are used to be trellised. Stretch the net between installed metal or wooden posts at the right distance. The installation system may vary according to the crop, the type of soil and climate.

Another advantage of trellising vegetables is that harvesting, weeding and spraying agro-treatments is easier and more comfortable. When grown vertically fruits are better exposed

to sunlight and are more visible when it is the right time to collect them. A technique that simplifies all the production operations helps to optimize the labour and is more cost saving.

Furthermore keeping the crops away from the ground reduces the attacks of slugs and other pets. Vegetables and its foliage can benefit from a better ventilation. Improving phytosanitary conditions of the plants reduces the risks of diseases and the need of agrochemical applications. At the end harvest is more organic, with less imperfections and consequently more valuable.

After proper disinfection, trellising net can be reused over different cultivation cycles. It is UV resistant, durable and easily storable.