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We have had to continuously respond to the weather
"A very late and erratic season, in which there was little to plan and we had to continuously respond to the weather conditions." Willem de Bruin of Ploegmakers Groep in De Rips (North Brabant) looks back on the 2024 growing year with mixed feelings.
In beet cultivation, the soaking wet spring has caused major differences. "A few early sown plots were top with almost 100 tons yield and over 16% sugar. But there were also plenty that got stuck under 45 tons with barely 14% sugar. Those plots need serious money."
"The 2024 season actually started in the autumn of 2023. The harvest was so difficult that we were still harvesting with caterpillars and dumpers at the end of January. Then you know for sure that the start of the new season can't be good anymore..." Willem de Bruin says it with a frugal smile. As an agricultural manager, he has experienced more difficult years, but last spring - when the planting and sowing activities continued until the beginning of July - took the cake. "We sowed the last beets here on 25 June, more than three months after the first sown plots. On one plot you are sowing, on the other plot the crop is already dense. I have never experienced that before."
Erik van Gerwen from Vlamings is also present at the conversation. He also emphasizes once again that the combination of a lot of rain and an extremely high groundwater level has postponed the spring activities enormously and has caused a lot of differences in growth and yield. "On the higher and often somewhat better plots, sowing could still be done reasonably on time and the beets were able to benefit from the growing weather. On those plots, up to 100 tons per hectare was harvested with 16% sugar. But there are also many that unfortunately could only be sown very late and do not reach 45 tons. With the expected lower beet price, a lot of money will have to be added to that," he fears.
Late weed control
The weed control in beets was also late, which meant that action had to be taken more quickly than normal. "Normally we always spray four or five times with an interval of ten to twelve days. Now – especially in the later sown beets – we were often only able to spray three times and often every seven days. Everything grew so quickly that it was almost impossible to keep up", De Bruin reflects. Due to the good functioning of the soil herbicides and few hardened weeds, the plots went into the summer relatively clean. "All in all, we are therefore not dissatisfied with the weed control."
Van Gerwen emphasizes that good monitoring of the plots was extra important for the result last season. "Apart from major differences in weed density, the sowing dates and growth stages of the beets also varied greatly. Where some plots were sprayed for the first time, other plots were already undergoing the last spraying. This required a lot of extra attention and focus in terms of planning and logistics. Not only from myself, but certainly also from the men on the field sprayer. All in all, weed control was anything but standard."
Betanal Tandem remains the basis
When asked about the most difficult weeds in the area, De Bruin mentions all the species of orache – and especially the protruding orache, the bindweed and the potato growth. Van Gerwen is happy to add dog parsley, ragwort and camomile. "Due to the discontinuation of the Safari agent, these weeds may become more challenging in the coming years. We will have to find an answer to that with the agents that we still have," says the advisor.
In any case, an important basis for the coming years remains the means Payment Tandem. Van Gerwen calls it 'the coat rack on which weed control is hung'. "We usually start with 0,6 to 0,7 l/ha Betanal Tandem and then increase the dosage to 1,25 l/ha at the third spraying. In addition, 0,75 to 1 l/ha Goltix is added as reinforcement as standard and from the second or third spraying often also a soil herbicide to broaden the mix or against potato storage. If there are specific problem weeds, such as peat root or bindweed, we also add an extra agent to the mix."
As far as De Bruin is concerned, Payment Tandem has proven itself in recent years as a very reliable agent against a wide range of weeds. "That is not only important for our own beet plots, but certainly also for the beets that we spray in contract work. Ultimately, we are judged on the result; plots simply have to be clean. With Betanal Tandem you can be reasonably certain of that."
