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'Onion cultivation is deeply rooted in our DNA'
After a temporary stop in 2020, Ivo Haartsen from Biervliet (Zeeland) has resumed onion cultivation last year. "It remains a beautiful and challenging crop. Moreover, we have all the necessities for cultivation," is how he motivates the return of the crop in the cultivation plan.
He is, however, very concerned about the available resources. "Last year we were unable to tackle downy mildew sufficiently - partly due to a shortage of curative agents. That cost a lot of money."
It is a drizzly afternoon in December. Ivo Haartsen is busy with maintenance on his tractors in his workshop. "Actually, we still have to pick just under 30 hectares of carrots – as contract work and also part of ourselves. But it is much too wet for that now. There is a good chance that we will have to harvest them later, because the foliage is too bad for picking by now. Well, we'll see if we get another chance before the frost," he says with a sigh.
The delayed carrot harvest is the tail end of a very variable season. "Until the end of April, the crops were in excellent condition; a real picture. Then it got wet and fungal diseases set in. We had to pull out all the stops to keep the crops somewhat disease-free. That has largely been successful, although we also have a few setbacks,'', the arable farmer looks back.
Again onions in the construction plan
One of the crops that presented a 'considerable challenge' last season are onions. Haartsen says that - after a one-year stop - he has included them again in the construction plan. "In 2017, 2018 and 2019 we had serious problems here with drought, thrips and Fusarium. As a result, the yields were often pitifully low – in 2018 not even 20 tons per hectare. The onions were also of such poor quality that they were difficult or impossible to store. With the additional chagrin of an increasingly higher cost price, we have decided not to grow onions in 2020."
The fact that 17 hectares of onions were sown again last season is mainly due to the extensive mechanization on the farm. "We have all the necessities for cultivation here and are in fact fully equipped for it – including a storage place for onions. We even bought an irrigation reel and pump with 2500 meters of hose last year to irrigate the more expensive crops. It would be strange not to grow onions anymore." Haartsen acknowledges that the charm and challenge of cultivation also attracts him. "In that respect, onion cultivation is part of our DNA; hear onions actually be in the building plan.”
High Downy Mildew Pressure
Last season, disease control, and downy mildew in particular, was a major challenge. The persistently wet weather and also the large number of infections in onion sets in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen caused a great deal of mildew pressure in the seed onions. Haartsen: "Of my three onion plots, one was moderate, one was reasonably successful and one was successful. The worst onions were literally black with mildew. An MH spraying was therefore neither possible nor useful. In the end, barely 40 tons came in. onions from the field too fine, with almost 17 tare, I sold them ex-land for a price that I would like to forget as soon as possible… The other two parcels are now in storage, but the kilos and quality are also important quite different.”
Major differences in storage cell
To show the differences, Haartsen, together with his advisor Leon Rijs from supplier Van Overloop, who is also present at the meeting, climbs on both onion heaps. One cell has clearly collapsed a few centimeters after storage and shows some offshoots here and there. The other cell looks excellent and can still be seen for a long time without loss of quality. According to Rijs, the situation at Haartsen is exemplary for the whole of Zeeuws-Vlaanderen. "The quality differences in the storage facilities are large. Growers who had a lot of problems with downy mildew did not carry out the MH spraying or under bad crop conditions. You can now see that in the cells. There are very good lots, but also lots that, because rot, Fusarium or shot now have to go as soon as possible. It is extra wry that those mediocre batches are also much more ventilated, resulting in extra costs and extra weight loss. That cuts a lot for a number of growers."
Limited curative resources available
An additional downer this season was the limited availability of curative agents. Rijs: "Last season, it was possible to use the last mancozeb for the last mancozeb. Although suppliers and growers had stocked considerable stocks of curative mancozeb-containing products, this was not enough due to the heavy mildew pressure. Several companies have therefore encountered serious problems with the disease control with significant yield losses as a result." In his own words, Haartsen also lost about ten percent in yield due to a lack of curative agents against downy mildew. In addition, he thinks that growers - and he himself - benefit from the explosiveness of the fungus Underestimated, so that sometimes intervention was taken too late. Rijs also states that many were surprised by the fungus, especially the younger arable farmers. "Some had never seen downy mildew and otherwise they would not have experienced such heavy pressure before. As a result, quite a few growers have been chasing the disease throughout the season."
Diseases and pests more difficult to control
Haartsen fears that diseases and especially pests in onions are becoming increasingly difficult to control. Is it not because of increasing pressure, or because less and less effective resources are available. He mentions the onion and bean fly and thrips as examples, which are causing more and more problems. The same goes for wireworms, leatherettes and root centipedes. "All these insects immediately cause great damage and can completely ruin the crop."
The arable farmer also notices that crop protection is becoming more and more expensive, which is putting pressure on the yield of the cultivation. "Take the control of fungal diseases, for example. Now that mancozeb is banned, the costs will just go up by € 200 per hectare. In addition, there is actually nothing to cut back on the remaining resources. You all need them to control diseases. to hold.''
Still perspective
Despite all these 'challenges', Haartsen still sees prospects in cultivation. "You have to make an effort for onions. And that appeals to me as an arable farmer. Moreover, we have the machines, we can now irrigate and we have the knowledge in-house. The free market also provides the necessary liveliness. The prices are now ( mid-December) may not be the best, but you never know how the wind might change in the onion market, which makes it attractive again, especially when you have beautiful onions in storage." Rijs also notices that onion cultivation in the area perhaps shrinking a bit, but certainly not from the minds of the growers."I have a 73-year-old arable farmer as a customer. Despite several lean years in a row, he still continues. Because yes, onions offer a new chance for success every year.”
