This is the crop protection sail we supply in dark green, and the colour and the rate are the point of it together. A deep green reads as planting rather than a pale industrial cover, and at 95 percent shade the sail takes the hardest of the afternoon sun off a bed or a nursery frame without closing the air off the crop. It is a knitted HDPE mesh with a reinforced hem and metal grommets at the corners, so it goes up on a frame the way a sail goes up on a stay and holds its shape across a season in the sun.
A crop sitting under full afternoon sun loses more to glare than to heat, and that is the job this sail is made for. It is a dark green HDPE mesh cut and hemmed as a sail, at 95 percent shade, so a bed or a nursery frame can be covered with a fixed cover that goes up on corner points rather than being draped and weighed down.
Ninety five percent is the heavy end of the range, and it is chosen where the light has to come down hard: a newly planted bed, a nursery frame of young stock, or a crop that scorches in the middle of the day. The colour is part of the spec rather than decoration, since a dark green cover sits better over planting than a pale industrial cloth and is what growers ask for where the cover is seen from the house or the field edge. Because the mesh is knitted HDPE, the sail still passes air at that rate, so the bed underneath does not sit in trapped heat the way it would under a solid sheet.
The sail goes over open beds, nursery frames and seedling benches where a fixed cover is wanted rather than a roll that is run out and weighted. Because it is hemmed on all sides with grommets at the corners and along the edges, it can be tied out to a frame, strained between posts or set over a bed on a light stay. Growers running stock under the same cover often pair it with a planting bag, and the wider shade net range covers the reflective and light types where the job calls for something other than a heavy green sail.
| Material | Knitted HDPE mesh, not coated |
| Shade Rate | 95 percent, made to order |
| Colour | Dark green, customised on request |
| Function | UV resistant shading and crop protection |
| Edges | Reinforced hem with metal grommets |
| Finish | Not coated, permeable to air and water |
| Application | Crop beds, nursery frames and seedling benches |
| Packing | Export package, customised on request |
The edge is the part that decides whether a sail lasts, so the hem is turned and stitched and the grommets are set in metal rather than punched through the mesh. That lets the cover be strained tight on the corners without the weave pulling open, and it can be taken down and put back up season after season. A knitted monofilament net covers the same idea where a finer weave is wanted, while this sail covers the heavy green crop protection job. Growers often hold one sail for the nursery frame and a second over the bed.
Span, shade rate and colour are all made to order, so the first detail to confirm is the size of the bed or the frame the sail is going over and the crop under it. Sails ship in export packing and are cut to suit the span. Growers tracking how netting performs across a season can follow trade coverage such as HortiDaily and FreshPlaza for what is being installed on commercial sites.
Is a 95 percent sail too heavy for a nursery?
It is the heavy end, and that is what a nursery frame or a newly planted bed usually wants. Where the crop is leafy and soft, a lighter rate in the same range is the better fit.
Will the sail hold up to wind on a frame?
The hem is reinforced and the grommets are metal, so the sail can be strained on the corners. Because the mesh is knitted and open, air passes through it rather than lifting it like a solid sheet.
Can I order a different size, rate or colour?
Yes. Span, shade rate and colour are all made to order, so the sail can be set to the bed. Tell us the span and the crop and we will advise.
Tell us the span, the shade rate and the colour you are working to, and we will confirm the size and the packing that suit your order.
Mark Wu, Co-founder & Technical Director, Sichuan Zhifang Net Industry. 15 years manufacturing agricultural nettings for growers in 32 countries.
