{"id":448695,"date":"2026-01-31T03:09:19","date_gmt":"2026-01-31T03:09:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/448695\/"},"modified":"2026-01-31T03:09:19","modified_gmt":"2026-01-31T03:09:19","slug":"fruit-tree-netting-installations-to-increase-over-next-decade-as-heatwaves-persist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/448695\/","title":{"rendered":"Fruit tree netting installations to increase over next decade as heatwaves persist"},"content":{"rendered":"

Humans are told to slip, slop, slap, seek and slide, but for agricultural crops, seeking shade has never been more important.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The latest heatwave that gripped the south-east of the country broke temperature records, with highs above 49 degrees Celsius in New South Wales and South Australia.<\/p>\n

But the extreme temperatures have raised questions in key fruit-growing regions about how to protect crops and businesses from heat in the future.<\/p>\n

\"a<\/p>\n

Craig Burne says sustained hot days either side of a heatwave are a problem. (ABC Riverland: Amelia Walters)<\/p>\n

For persimmon and avocado grower Craig Burne in South Australia’s Riverland, netting infrastructure across his persimmon crop has been a lifeline.<\/p>\n

“We have overhead misting systems that come on at 35 degrees to help cool the avocado orchard … and we have our nets for the persimmons,” he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Without these two systems in place, I don’t think we’d successfully grow either of these crops in this climate anymore.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"heat<\/p>\n

Craig Burne says it will take days until he knows the full extent of his avocado crop loss. (ABC Riverland: Amelia Walters)<\/p>\n

“I think [netting] is going to be absolutely mandatory for many crops to survive the heat.”<\/p>\n

Mr Burne said while some of his persimmon crop was heat-affected, it held up better than his avocado crops, which were not covered by netting.<\/p>\n

\"sunburnt<\/p>\n

Fruit exposed to the sun can quickly become sunburnt and turn brown. (ABC Riverland: Amelia Walters)<\/p>\n

“Without those net structures protecting fruit from that sun and those extreme heat events, you’re not going to get through without crop loss, it’s as simple as that,” he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Netting the way of the future?\u00a0<\/p>\n

G2 Netting Group sales director Kyle Lamont said netting sales across Australia had increased in recent years, especially in regions including the Riverland, Sunraysia and Goulburn Valley.<\/p>\n

“Over the last five to 10 years, there’s definitely been an uptake and an increase in growers looking for protection,” he said.<\/p>\n

\"a<\/p>\n

Kyle Lamont says some netting structures can reduce UV exposure by up to 20 per cent. (Supplied: Kyle Lamont)<\/p>\n

“There’s really no growing regions that aren’t increasing netting structures.<\/p>\n

“[Growers] can maintain a more stable environment under the netting structures, and during the peak of those heatwaves, it’s probably 2 or 3 degrees cooler under those structures.”<\/p>\n

Mr Lamont said export markets in countries such as China, Korea and Japan were only accepting “pristine” fruit, highlighting the need for sun protection. \u00a0<\/p>\n

“People buy with their eyes, so unfortunately, that means [growers] have to produce blemish-free fruit, and that’s getting harder with these extreme challenges from Mother Nature,” he said.<\/p>\n

Mr Lamont said some netting structures could cost about $60,000 per hectare to install.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"netting<\/p>\n

Netting infrastructure usually has a lifespan of around 15 years. (ABC Riverland: Amelia Walters)<\/p>\n

Mr Lamont said while he believed there was still a place for small fruit producers who were unable to afford netting, it was a no-brainer for corporate growers to install the infrastructure.<\/p>\n

“Netting is an insurance policy, and I believe most large-scale or major growers will be going that way,” he said.<\/p>\n

South Australia’s Department of Primary Industries and Regions previously offered grants of up to 50 per cent on netting infrastructure installation or repairs for Riverland and Adelaide Hills growers.<\/p>\n

The funding stream ended on June 30, 2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hotter days and longer heatwaves<\/p>\n

Adelaide University environmental health researcher Peng Bi said heatwaves would continue to be an issue across the country.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“We are seeing the increase of heatwaves across Australia. In Adelaide [for example], heatwaves occurred in 2009, 2014, 2019, 2024, and now 2026, so there are a lot of heatwaves happening,” he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"a<\/p>\n

Peng Bi says inland regions are likely to be affected by heatwaves more than coastal regions. (ABC News: Brant Cumming)<\/p>\n

“Those intense heatwaves have and will continue to impact society, including productivities from agricultural areas.”<\/p>\n

Professor Bi said mitigation and adaptation to climate change would be crucial.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“[Heatwaves] will affect the population’s health, and it will likely impact farming communities and their outdoor activities,\u00a0for example,” he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"a<\/p>\n

Craig Burne says despite the harsh conditions, he will continue to grow fruit into the future. (ABC Riverland: Amelia Walters)<\/p>\n

Back in the state’s Riverland, Mr Burne said consolidating his crop varieties may be the way forward.<\/p>\n

“The question will be, do we start consolidating our business in terms of moving away some of the avocado orchards that aren’t as productive … and replant to persimmons to remain under net?” he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“In an ideal situation, I’d have my whole farm under net, but avocados are just too damn big to grow under nets.”\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Humans are told to slip, slop, slap, seek and slide, but for agricultural crops, seeking shade has never…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":448696,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[64,63,44890,99,68,232154,232157,232156,232155,232153,195838,6878,232152],"class_list":{"0":"post-448695","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-avocado","11":"tag-business","12":"tag-climate-change","13":"tag-craig-burne","14":"tag-fruit-tree-netting","15":"tag-heatwaves-fruit-growing","16":"tag-how-does-extreme-heat-affect-food","17":"tag-lowana-fruit","18":"tag-persimmon","19":"tag-riverland","20":"tag-stonefruit"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/448695","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=448695"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/448695\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/448696"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=448695"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=448695"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=448695"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}