Brought to you by Van Iperen
Higher yield in potatoes
Is precision cultivation profitable or not? Many arable farmers doubt: why should we do it differently now, when we have always done it this way. With Precisieteelt Plus, a concept by Van Iperen, the results are obvious: a higher yield and a more uniform sorting! "Anyone who wants to achieve an optimal return can no longer ignore this technique."
In an extensive article on the website of Precision Cultivation Plus specialists Anthon Slootweg, Bram van Oers and Jan Jaap Roseboom will shed light on the results of precision cultivation in consumption and seed potatoes over the past five years on the basis of practical experience. Below is a brief summary.
"More than 1.500 germination tests and more than 1.800 test harvests, with a total length of more than 5 kilometers ridge, show unequivocally that the practical and logical approach of Precision Cultivation Plus works."
Importance of seed potatoes
According to the three specialists, arable farmers leave a lot behind, especially in the preliminary phase. This concerns the potential of the plot, but also the quantity of seed potatoes. Many arable farmers seem to be careless with their precious starting material. "Most opt for an average planting distance, without counting and weighing the seed potatoes. So they don't know how many seed potatoes there are in a kilo. Then the question is: does the planting distance I want to use match the kilos of seed potatoes that I have available? have got?"
Aart Maris, arable farmer in Heijningen, knows from experience how important this knowledge is: "The advice from the chip factory is generally quite broad, because they want large, long potatoes. But if you are dealing with different types of soil, then if their advice is not useful, then you have planted too few on heavy soil and you get a potato that is too coarse, while the potatoes on the lighter soil lag far behind."
Variable legs
The next step in the system approach is to accurately map the soil potential. "At the front of the cultivation you have to determine how much variation there is within the plot and which variation in planting distance you should therefore apply. We make a soil map for this. It provides insight into where there is high soil potential and where it is lower. "
Arable farmer Maris: "On the heavier soil I have demonstrably had 25% more tubers in the past two years. The vigor is great there. By planting more closely, I have much more kilos and the result is much more even. You then need more seed, but that is more than made up for by the higher yield."
Finally, the article provides an overview of the average results of the past five years, for both French fries and table varieties.
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