Heat and drought, that's not potato weather. This is confirmed in the trial ewe of the Belgian PCA. There is hardly any regrowth and the plots ripen quickly. The revenues of Challenger and Fontane threaten to be historically low.
The average yield of Fontane in the trial harvest on September 5 was 38,5 tons per hectare. That is 19% below the multi-year average of 48 tons per hectare for the first week of September. After 138 growing days, the yield has never been lower than 40 tons per hectare. In the last two weeks, 1,2 tons per hectare have grown. Of the 33 plots, one is almost 50 tons per hectare, while six plots are at 30 tons or less. There is hardly any difference in yield between Flanders and Wallonia. On average this is 27 tons per hectare or 72% of the gross yield in size 50. There is a large spread, ranging from 14 to 43 tons per hectare. Several plots do not even meet the 60% standard in size 50. This should normally not be a problem for the Fontane breed. Washing through is generally not a major problem. Here and there is a tuber with a dash of poppiness. The problems are greater on three Flemish plots and 11% to 17% showed symptoms of overgrowth.
Nice sorting
Challenger is not doing much better than Fontane. The average yield after 139 growing days is 37,7 tons per hectare. That is 22% below the multi-year average. The spread between the plots is from 21 to 52 tons per hectare. In Flanders, yields are on average higher than in Wallonia. Only 51% of the potatoes in the samples are in size 50. A quarter of the plots meet the minimum standard of 60% in size 50. Due to the higher number of tubers per plant, the Challenger grading is finer than Fontane. At 100 kilos per day per hectare, regrowth is even lower than with Fontane. Challenger is usually slightly more sensitive to overgrowth. This season, in the plots that PCA is monitoring, there is only one where overgrowth is a problem. On that plot, 24% of the tubers show signs of washing through.
In addition to Challenger and Fontane, PCA also announces the results of Innovator. The yield is an average of 31,1 tons per hectare. On average, 73% of them are in size 50. However, only six plots of this variety are monitored, so PCA warns to be careful in drawing conclusions from the results.
On average, the yields are so far below average that you could call it a crop failure. Remarkably, the market hardly reacts to the disappointing returns. Although the futures market took a step upwards yesterday, it is still well below €30 per 100 kilos. The Belgapom quotation remains unchanged at €25 per 100 kilos.