By Arrigoni

Effective defense against whitefly, thrip and aphids and reliable protection against excessive humidity to combat fungal diseases, with 0 impact: all this is on offer from Arrigoni, the Italian Group that has designed and produced agrotextiles for use in farming for over 60 years. The solutions will shortly be presented on stand 220 at the 2023 edition of GreenTech Americas, the show dedicated to green technologies for agriculture, to be held from 21 to 23 March at the Exhibition Centre in Querétaro, Mexico. 

The protective screens have already proven their worth in the field, as we were told by Antonio Segura, operations manager of the Santa Rita estate, which grows tomatoes and vegetables on an area of 40 hectares in the town of the same name. 

“The Rio Verde valley area, where the Santa Rita production centre is located,” Mr Segura explained, “is a semi-arid zone, with a climate that is normally hot with low humidity, except during the winter. So in our zone we have problems with a variety of insect pests, the most harmful of which are whitefly, thrip and aphids. We’ve found use of the Arrigoni thrip net to be fundamental in combating them.”

“Previously,” Mr Segura continued, “we used other covering systems, but they had holes and flaws, and the results were unsatisfactory. In contrast, Arrigoni’s Biorete® 50 Air Plus, recommended to us by our partners Asesores en Invernaderos, has a very thin but very uniform monofilament, essential for perfect passive protection. And, what’s more, as well as providing a barrier against insect pests it is also an effective way of combating the excessive humidity we experience in winter, which causes problems above all post-harvest, with the growth of penicillium fungus. In fact, Biorete® Air Plus improves ventilation inside the greenhouse.

This is why we’ve decided to adopt Arrigoni’s solutions on our estate; we view it as not a cost but rather an investment, which will be recouped through a reduction in treatments and an improvement in the question of every crop.”

In Mexico, fruit and vegetables are grown in almost tropical climates. Growers have to tackle a variety of problems, especially in passive greenhouses. In hot weather, poor ventilation causes an increase in temperature and humidity, a drop in CO2 levels, water stress, higher rates of parasites and diseases, greater crop losses due to viruses, a high level of pesticide treatments (several times a week) and inefficient pollination. 

All these problems lead to low yields and poor crop quality. 

“In growing areas like those in Mexico,” confirms Arrigoni agronomist Dr Milena Poledica, “Biorete® Air Plus can prove extremely efficacious and cost-effective. With its particularly tight mesh, this screen controls insect access and thus reduces virus levels, brings temperature down as low as 28-29°, balances humidity and enables improved ventilation. This creates better climate conditions for plants’ growth.” 

As well as Biorete® Air Plus already referred to, Arrigoni will also be presenting other high-tech solutions at GreenTech. These include Prisma® and Robuxta®, ranges of protective screens that provide optimised light diffusion combined with temperature control, and Arricover®, the innovative screen that improves the microclimate. What’s more, since Italian leader Lirsa joined the Group, Arrigoni is now also able to offer solutions specifically developed for Mexico and tropical climates in the sector of agrofilms with exceptionally high light diffusion and high total transmittance.

For more information: http://www.arrigoni.it/