How serious is the drought in the potatoes?

The problems are greatest in the southern areas of the Netherlands. At the beginning of the season it was wet there for a long time, which made it difficult to planted late could be. "As a result, the plants have a mediocre root system," says Wim in 't Veld, arable sector manager at Van Iperen. "Now that this drought is over, the plants are under severe stress."

In 't Veld sees plots with limp potato plants, where the sun beats down on their ridges. There is plenty of irrigation in Zeeland; at least, in places where it is possible. However, the most important thing for the plants is that rain is coming now. "When fertilizing, it is wise to use fertilizers with a low salt value and EC," says in 't Veld. "That immediately causes leaf burns."

Congested ground
Also in Limburg, North Brabant and the neighboring Belgian areas it is very dry, but the crops have not yet opened. "One problem is that due to the heavy rain showers at the beginning of this season, the ground has compacted. As a result, the water is no longer absorbed properly," says Jos Souren, advisor at Delphy.

The situation is also worrying in the east of the country. At the end of the afternoon the crops are hanging considerably. The consequences of the disease are still visible heavy precipitation earlier in the season. Sandy soil has little water holding capacity. Bert Huizinga, advisor at Delphy, sees crops that were doing well, but are now suddenly declining.

Yet Huizinga is not downright negative. "The starch potatoes have fewer disadvantages from being washed through." He also sees that in practice irrigation does not yield much, because the crops wear out sooner. This while the crops that have not been irrigated are still recovering well.

North slightly better
In general, potatoes are in slightly better condition in the northern provinces. In the Flevopolders It is irrigated heavily, but that is also partly to allow the fertilizer to rain in. “Quite a bit of Alternaria is already found in early plots, but that is quite normal for this time of year,” says Ian Hill of Profytodsd.

In the Wieringermeer, the potatoes have just finished flowering and the crop is still in reasonably good condition. "The lower leaves are still green, but are starting to droop," says Marco van Soesbergen, product manager at Crop Solutions.

The drought in Groningen cannot yet be called extreme. There has been some rain recently and the potatoes are not wilting (yet). The number of tubers varies. Klaas Froma, cultivation advisor at Delphy, says that not only the drought in 1976 was a problem, but also the wet autumn that followed. He tries to prepare for that.

Belgium and Germany
Olaf van Campen, product manager at Adama, was shocked by the situation Germany and Belgium. In Germany he generally thought the plots were in reasonable condition. In addition, in large parts of Germany there is no irrigation at all, because they cannot. He saw many plots of land that were completely opened up, causing the sun to shine even more on their backs. In the German border region, not a drop of rain has fallen for 10 weeks.

Van Campen found the situation in Belgium quite disappointing. He saw many Colorado beetles. "Whereas in the Netherlands you see some damage from the beetle in patches, in Belgium there are sometimes entire plots full of Colorado beetles."

Van Campen also noticed that there are enormous amounts of viruses and bacteria in the plants. "This is because the quality of the starting material is disappointing. In Belgium, a lot of seed potatoes are propagated themselves. They are now shooting themselves in the foot. In some plots, as much as 40% to 50% of the plot contained a virus."

"There are many problems with the seed potatoes in Belgium, and it is dry. It is also dry in Germany. Only in France have they received enough rain." When asked whether this will lead to damage, he is clear: "This will inevitably lead to lower yields. Even if it were to rain in 2 weeks, it would still not be enough for the crops. They already need rain." , says Van Campen.

Advices
If there are showers, it can also cause flooding. The potatoes will then set again and the old tubers will be emptied for the new potatoes. The question is whether there will be enough starch in the potatoes. Van Soesbergen has already heard arable farmers talking about MH spraying against washout. He advises to be careful with this. "If you slow down growth now, you will miss the late growth."

To irrigate or not can be a difficult choice. Advisors say it is important to look at this on a plot-by-plot basis. A matter of digging a hole and checking the moisture balance, that is the first step. Furthermore, the rooting depth is important. Disturbing layers are not only harmful during drought, but also during heavy rainfall.

Futures market is rising
The drought is already having a major impact on the potato futures market. A huge number of contracts were converted. The rating rose through €20. On the plots participating in the Boerenbusiness Crop Tour is still in the drought no big impact had.