Analysis Potatoes
Leaf device missing for regrowth potatoes
The potato harvest in Belgium is 10% lower than last season. At least that is what the JRC expects in this month's Mars bulletin. In the Netherlands, the potatoes are also not doing great, with a forecast that is 7% lower than last year. Due to the late planting and wet start of the summer, there are too few leaves on the plants.
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Choose the subscription that suits youRain around the long-term average, above-average temperatures and slightly more sun than average in late August and early September. All in all, good growing conditions for potatoes, beets and maize according to the JRC, the scientific bureau of the European Commission. However, there is not enough to create biomass above ground for high yields.
Leaf mass
The Netherlands is one of the few EU member states that publishes the GSA data (geospatial application) during the growing season. During the growing season, it is known on which plot which crop is growing. Together with high-resolution satellite data (JRC bases the yield forecasts on satellite data), regional crop-specific data can be analysed. As an example, a graph of the leaf mass index (LAI) for potatoes in Noord-Brabant has been added to the Mars bulletin. The slow start at the beginning of the season is clearly visible in this and it also becomes clear that the potatoes were already starting to drop off at the end of August.
The average potato yield in the Netherlands is estimated by the JRC at 39,0 tonnes per hectare. This is 8% below the five-year average of 42,2 tonnes. Last year, 41,8 tonnes per hectare were harvested. For Belgium, the JRC estimates the harvest at 39,2 tonnes per hectare, compared to 41,4 in the five-year average and 43,5 tonnes per hectare last season. In France and Germany, the expected yields are above the five-year average. The German harvest will be 42,5 tonnes per hectare, compared to an average of 41,9 tonnes, and in France, the JRC expects 42,0 tonnes, compared to an average of 41,0 tonnes per hectare.
