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'Do everything for healthy and virus-free seed potatoes'
Pieter, Koen and their father Ko de Putter in Zaamslag have grown in the hectares of seed potatoes in recent years. The Zeeland-Flemish people opt for certainty in this cultivation.
The acreage of seed potatoes has grown strongly in the past 6 years on the company of the De Putter family. 7 years ago the acreage was still 20 hectares; more than 2020 hectares of seed potatoes are planned for 50. Further acreage growth is not a goal in itself, although they do not shy away from healthy rented land. Because with the 3 partners, quality is more important than quantity. They want to be able to grow a healthy crop anyway.
In addition to seed potatoes, the family also grows second-year onion sets, sugar beet and winter wheat. In addition to the work on the arable farm, contract work is also carried out.
Custody
When the seed potato area was still 20 hectares, Koen worked much more outside the company. The family then outsourced the sorting, as well as much of the other work on the seed potatoes. They then decided to build an additional warehouse, with their own sorting installation, and to further expand the acreage for seed potatoes.
Prevent lower class
The starting point of the three partners is to purchase S seed potatoes and to continue growing them into A's for as long as possible. They therefore do everything they can to keep the crop healthy. During cultivation, tackling phytophthora and aphids is a top priority.
To tackle lice and prevent virus, they spray every 5 days with oil and a pyrethroid, supplemented with a long-acting lice agent once every 1 days. The seed potato growers are happy that they Closer have at their disposal to keep the crop aphid-free and thus also to ward off viruses. The importance of tools like Closer is even greater now that Reglone is no longer allowed. This makes quick and effective haulm killing more difficult. This extends the period in which virus protection is required.
That is why the growers immediately used Closer in 2019, the first year that the product was approved. "Everything you can do to keep the crop healthy, you should also do," emphasizes Koen. "It costs too much if a party is placed in a lower class. That is why we opt for certainty."
Closer in seed potatoes
Closer shows in multi-year virus tests in seed potatoes that it is the strongest of the available lice killers. Closer's current authorization is limited to post-flowering applications. To make optimal use of the properties, we recommend spraying with Closer immediately after the crop has flowered. In this way, both the fast and the long-lasting effect come into their own.