Major European Citrus Plant Supplier Use Dillon Quick-Check to Tension Vital Growing Equipment
As a major supplier of Citrus plants to wholesalers and retailers in 32 European countries, Citrina must ensure that they meet the demands of their market as well as strict quality standards. To do so, the company use a tensioned trellis system to support the growing seedlings and plants.
With more than 1.5 million plants produced annually across a 30 acre site, Citrina continually research new production techniques in order to produce the highest quality citrus plants. As part of their production process, it is vital that they constantly monitor, adjust and record the tensions on all of their trellises to ensure that they maintain the best environment for the plants to develop. This is a very time consuming process and the use of the Quick-Check – a highly accurate and quick tension meter – has helped to improve their productivity.
As the tension in trellis wires plays a vital role in the design of the trellis structures and the support they are able to offer the growing tress, achieving the correct tension is critical to the health of the plants. Mr. Welch, owner of Citrina, says: ‘We needed a way to accurately measure the tension on the wires and the Dillon Quick-Check makes this simple”.
A wide variety of factors can affect the tension of the trellis, from the weight of the plant and its fruit to the load added by factors such as rain, overhead irrigation and wind, as well as the contraction/expansion of the wires themselves as temperatures change. It is therefore very important to the company that they are able to measure the tension quickly and accurately, without having a detrimental impact on the way that the tress are monitored and cared for.
The Dillon Quick-Check can be placed on the trellis cable, measure its tension, and be removed in under five seconds, with no complex lookup tables or conversion charts. The operator can quickly select from 20 pre-calibrated wire sizes and types stored in Quick-Check’s memory. The tensioning mode graphically displays the current and target tension control limits for extremely quick setting of line tension, ensuring that the tensions are precisely measured.
Mr Welch continues “I couldn’t be happier with the Dillon Quick-Check. It is really simple and quick to use, combined with the fantastic accuracy. The additional functionality to store and export all the readings makes the quick check irreplaceable. It is so easy to keep track of everything.’