Effect of Coloured Shade Nets on Growth and Quality of Horticultural Crops

Shade nets provide a specific microenvironment to the crops at various stages. For maintaining quantitative and qualitative characteristics of fruits, vegetables, flowers and foliage plants, it is important to manipulate the quantity, quality, duration and direction of light which is coming towards the crop. In fruit crops, coloured netting produced a positive influence on yield and grafting. In Ornamental plants, morphological parameters are much affected by the differential effects of coloured shade nets whereas in vegetable crops, leaf characteristics are variably influenced by red and green coloured shade nets. Rather than green and black shade nets, other colours such as red, white, blue, etc. were gaining importance in the present market. The coloured shade net approach was evaluated during the past decade in numerous ornamentals, fruit crops and vegetables which improved the growth and quality of the crops specifically.