The purpose of this type of cover is to protect plants from heavy rain which, in the period between the change of colour and ripeness, can cause the fruit to crack, which is actually one of the most serious problems faced by cherries. Most systems now available on the market are based on different technological solutions, but which all have the same drawback: in order to open and close them, they require heavy, long-term and costly manual operations meaning that this is only carried out at the most critical stages (from when the fruit turns ripe to the harvesting). The “Cap Solution” project was developed on the basis of these considerations, with the aim of creating an innovative system that could fully protect cherry orchards, including existing ones and new orchards, using netting systems that open and close fully automatically. The project was initiated about two years ago, in part with the help of the financial aid given by the Emilia-Romagna Region as part of Regional Health Plan 2014-2020 Measure of 16.1.01 and mostly carried out by the company Magif of Vignola (MO), with the scientific cooperation of the DISTAL University of Bologna and the technical and organisational coordination of the Plant Production Research Centre.
