Caythorpe Family Estate – Marlborough
Automated protection for premium cherries
At a Glance
Location:
Marlborough
Crop:
Cherries
Challenge:
Design and build an integrated plant support and protection solution for UFO grown cherries in a high-wind area.
Solution:
Super Spindel with integrated bird, wind and rain protection systems
Key components:
Stage 1 (2021): Plant Support Structure Stage 2 (2023): Protective Netting Stage 3 (2024): Retractable Rain Film
The challenge
Intensive cherry cultivation offers excellent potential for high-quality fruit but also means greater vulnerability to environmental threats. Caythorpe Family Estate needed an innovative solution to safeguard their premium cherries from multiple risks including birds, hailstorms and damaging winds, while maintaining optimal growing conditions.
Focusing on premium fruit production, they needed a solution to protect their investment while maximising fruit quality and operational efficiency. Their key requirements included comprehensive environmental protection, automated rain covers and a system designed for long-term productivity.
The solution
Working closely with Caythorpe, we delivered an integrated protection system delivered in three strategic stages:
Stage 1: Plant Support
- Super Spindel support
- Engineered for multiple protection systems
- Optimised growing
- Integrated Structure for Mulitple Protection Systems
Stage 2: Weather Protection
- Integrated hail/bird netting
- Bungee crossover system
- Wind force absorption
- Low shading impact
Stage 3: Rain Protection
- Automated retractable covers
- Weather-responsive
- Fast to deploy and retract
- Easy maintenance access
The results
- Complete environmental protection
- Zero bird presence within the structure
- Optimal light exposure
- Excellent fruit development
- Enhanced operational efficiency
- Automated weather response
“A major benefit of the Hortivate system is that it’s very versatile and provides an all-in-one solution for our needs. Rather than having separate infrastructure for the trellis, bird netting and the rain cover – it’s all integrated.”
