Kou cuts in on onions and potatoes

With 20 degrees on the plates, April started smoothly and warmly. Arable farmers reaped the benefits of this. Things changed in the second half of this month, with the low point being 2 nights of heavy night frost. In the eastern Netherlands, from Groningen to Limburg, the mercury dropped to -9 degrees on the ground.

Sugar beets
The fear was mainly for the sugar beets, which were just emerging in the eastern Netherlands. "At the end of last week we made a large-scale scan of the beet plots throughout the Netherlands," explains the head of Suiker Unie's agricultural service, Pieter Brooijmans. 'We think it looks good. We encounter frost damage in spots throughout the Netherlands, except in the southwest. However, the frost damage is nowhere so extensive that large-scale reseeding is required.'

Brooijmans attributes the fact that the beets came through so well to the condition of the crop. 'Due to the cold weather, the plants were already well hardened off. The soil was moist, which gave off some temperature. That probably saved many beet plants. There was also little wind, which also worked to our advantage. Although it remains cold, the danger has now passed. Herbicide spraying may also be carried out again.'

Seed onions
Some plots with sowing onions in the northeast of the country suffered more from frost. That becomes clear after a few days. "We have experience with night frost down to -4 degrees, but -8 is new to us," says Frank Druyff of seed supplier Hazera. 'We are now receiving calls from onion growers who are experiencing losses. That doesn't surprise me, given the low temperatures, but during my career I have never experienced it before. The early sown onions, which are in the flag leaf, are particularly affected. Perhaps frost damage has also occurred in Limburg. Overseeding is still possible, but the space for this is limited. We use May 1 as the end date. It is not without reason that the saying goes: who sows in May, reaps leeks. By the way, it was proven last year that this is not always the case, but then you do need growing weather.'

Tom Langenberg of De Groot & Slot does not yet have a clear picture of the onion plots in the east. 'I don't dare say out loud whether there is frost damage. The first grower has reported, but I will first assess the situation myself. The question remains whether the onions can continue to grow. These dry and cold conditions do not help. We will also inventory whether frost damage has occurred elsewhere in the Netherlands. For example in Limburg. We found no frost damage in Flevoland and the Noordoostpolder.'

Potatoes
Early potatoes are also in decline throughout Europe suffer the cold weather. Many early plots initially started with a head start and good initial development due to the high temperatures. In the Netherlands, most early crops are only just emerging, such as on the Zeeland island of Tholen. The crops under plastic have taken a hit from the frost, which means that the lead has disappeared. The growth of second-year onion sets is also lagging behind due to the dry and cold conditions.

In Germany, the ground temperature dropped to -10 degrees at night last week. It was rained there on Sunday and Monday night to prevent frost damage. The wind prevents effective irrigation everywhere, which can cause crops to freeze. This problem is especially prevalent in the Palatinate. It is not yet clear how extensive the damage is to potatoes. It is now beyond dispute that this results in a delay of several weeks.

Potato crops in France, England and Poland have also been affected by the cold weather. Planting work sometimes comes to a standstill due to the cold work. In Poland, and further east, snow fell in places. Besides the potatoes, all crops are affected by the cold. During the warm start of April, a considerable area of ​​maize had already been sown. Weed control and the spraying of a stem shortener in grain have to be stopped due to the cold weather. Weerplaza predicts 4 to 6 frost nights for Central Europe this week.

Photo source: PCA Vegetable cultivation