Poor turnout carrot smothers top yield

The old carrot season is ending dramatically in terms of price, but the new carrot is not doing well. Turnout is below average across the country. This is apparent from a survey among growers, advisers and trade.

In the first place, the position of the carrots is very variable. Hendrik Eerkens, of the Dutch Carrot Group, calls the turnout across the country disappointing. "The turnout is on the thin side. That applies to the entire country; the north of the Netherlands, the Flevopolders and the south-west of the country.

B-peen is generally thinner than we would like. Yet there is a lot of difference between plots. There are some with a very regular emergence, but on the other hand there are fields where there are not 70 or 80 plants per meter, but rather 30 to 40. If you miss so many plants, you can rule out a top yield."

Scorched young plants
This image corresponds to what Peter Rinkel sees from Hagranop in Tollebeek. The company is engaged in the harvest, cultivation, storage and trade of carrots. "The first sown plots come off best. These plants were already above the heat before the worst heat and could withstand it better than newly sprouted plants. The smaller, less strong plants have simply been scorched. They don't resurface either."

Chronic shortage for supers
The plants that were still standing, however, have suffered a growth retardation. "That arrears can still be made up when it starts to rain. Some growers have started resowing. This means that these plots have to be irrigated, because the seed does not germinate in dry conditions. A big risk," says Rinkel.

A grower from the Flevopolder has a rather gloomy view. "I estimate the problems as big. Bigger than everyone thinks today. The condition is bad on at least half of the plots in the Netherlands. The carrots were worth nothing, growers are grumpy about that and that's why they don't want to spend money on the new harvest It could well lead to a chronic shortage for supermarkets."

Similar situation in Belgium
The situation with regard to carrots in Belgium and Northern France is similar. There is also a thinner stand. For East and West Flanders there is a capture ban† Water is no longer allowed to be taken from rivers and streams. And here, too, the plots sown earlier are in better shape than the plots sown later. The impact of the frost in April is not yet clear.  

Since mid-March, Emmeloord's listing for B-peen has been declining rapidly.

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