This cloth carries two sets of lines rather than one, and they do different jobs. The vertical lines run the length of the roll and are what the next drop is laid against, so the overlap stays at a fixed width the whole way down a row instead of drifting. The square grid across the width is what the cutting is done from: a plant spacing or a bed dimension can be measured straight off it rather than marked out with a tape. Between them they remove most of the measuring from the day the cover goes down. The fabric itself is 100% virgin PP, woven and UV treated, with no shrinkage in service.
Most woven ground cover has one line down it and it is left to the person laying it to work out what the line is for. This cloth has two, and once you know which is which, a good deal of the measuring and marking on the day of laying stops being necessary.
The vertical lines run the length of the roll. They are the reference for the next drop: laid to the same line every time, the overlap between two widths comes out at a fixed dimension for the whole run rather than wandering in and out along the row. That matters most where the cover is going down in several drops across a wide bed or a house floor, because an overlap that drifts is where the weeds appear and where fabric gets wasted. The square grid runs across the width, and it is a measuring scale rather than a laying aid: the plant spacing, a bed width or a cut length can be counted off the squares instead of being marked out with a tape on site. Used together, the two lines let a bed be set out and covered without a separate marking pass.
The cloth is laid along orchard rows and tree avenues, over greenhouse floors and between the beds of a nursery or market garden. In a tree avenue the width is chosen so one drop covers the strip either side of the trunks, with the trees coming through slits cut on the grid. Because the weave passes water and air, irrigation and rain reach the soil rather than running off, and the ground under the cover stays workable. Growers raising stock on the same ground often order a planting bag alongside it, and the shade net range covers the covers that go over the crop rather than on the ground.
| Model | ZF-WB-01 |
| Material | 100% virgin polypropylene |
| Weight | 60 to 230 gsm |
| Mesh and denier | 7 x 7 to 14 x 14, 700D to 2000D |
| Width | Up to 6 m, with 3 ft to 15 ft supplied as standard |
| Length | 50 m to 8000 m |
| Colour | Black-green, black and white |
| Guide lines | Vertical line and square grid |
The construction runs from 700D to 2000D in a mesh of 7 x 7 up to 14 x 14, and the weight from 60 to 230 gsm, so the same cloth covers a light path and a heavy orchard row at different figures. The yarn is virgin PP rather than reprocessed, and the UV treatment runs from 0.1% to 0.6%, which is what the five year working life is based on. The fabric is also made without shrinkage, which keeps the laid width and the overlaps where they were set instead of opening up a strip of bare ground at every joint after a season. Where the requirement is covering plants above ground rather than the soil below, a knitted monofilament net is the better fit.
Weight, mesh, denier, width, length and colour are made to order, and widths go up to 6 m with 3 ft to 15 ft supplied as standard. Lengths run from 50 m to 8000 m, and rolls are wrapped for shipping. Tell us the row or bed layout and whether the ground is being worked, and we will work out the drop widths so the joints are kept to a minimum. Buyers tracking what is going onto orchard, nursery and greenhouse ground can follow trade coverage such as HortiDaily and FreshPlaza for what growers are laying.
What is the difference between the vertical line and the grid?
The vertical lines run the length of the roll and set the overlap when the next drop goes down. The square grid runs across the width and is used for measuring plant spacing and cut lengths off the cloth itself.
Do the lines wash off?
They are part of the cloth rather than printed on the surface, so they stay visible through the working life of the cover. Tell us how the bed is laid out and we will confirm the widths.
How long does the cloth last?
The working life is five years, based on virgin PP yarn with UV treatment from 0.1% to 0.6% and no shrinkage in service. Tell us the exposure and the traffic and we will advise on the weight.
Tell us the row or bed layout, the width and weight you have in mind and the total area, and we will confirm the drop widths, the roll sizes 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.
