Sowing onions makes huge catching up

In addition to seed onions, second-year onion onions must also be planted in Zeeland. Seed and planting material suppliers Hazera and De Groot en Slot confirm this. Arable farmers who already have the onion sets on the farm are expected to plant them out. So-called 'fortune seekers', who look for a leftover batch of onion sets at the last minute, leave this out. They choose to sow onions or sow slightly more sugar beets. In any case, the seed orders have not been completed.

National distribution
Both André Boot (Hazera) and Jaap Jonker (De Groot en Slot) estimate the already sown area of ​​onions for South-West Netherlands at 10%. In the center (North Holland, Flevoland and Overijssel) and north (Friesland, Groningen and Drenthe), these percentages range from 50% to 70%. Sowing in these areas will certainly be completed this week, it is expected.

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Whether work in the southwest will start quickly depends on the weather conditions. Apart from the high temperatures, wind is also required. It is currently very wet in the Hoeksche Waard and Zeeland Flanders, according to inquiries. The situation is more favorable on the Zeeland islands and other South Holland islands. This also applies to West Brabant. The rain area also extends over the Belgian coastal region, where work has come to a standstill. Sowing is in full swing in Wallonia, just like in East Brabant and Limburg.

No delay
If we manage to sow the onions this week, both Boot and Jonker do not expect the main harvest to be delayed. “Nature will take care of itself,” says Boot soberly. “You now have a high (soil) temperature and sufficient moisture, which means that the seed germinates immediately and grows smoothly. The weather conditions up to the longest day are of utmost importance. The crop must develop sufficient leaf mass to then bulb.”

The onions sown at the end of March, or earlier, are doing well. Growers have had to take measures to break the thick crust. However, the rain came just in time. “The very early ones are already in the flag magazine. You can't take that lead away from them anymore,” says Jonker. “The process after sowing is more important than the sowing time itself. Experience shows that May onions are not leek onions. With the current conditions, the crop will soon even be ahead of 2017. Then it remained cold and dry for a long time.”

onion sets
 “The early onions suffered most from thrips damage last year. In the end, the ones sown late were the best,” says a sorter. “Perhaps a delay will be noticeable in the early sowing onions and onion sets this summer. The onion sets that are already in the ground have not always been planted under the best conditions. Tractors even got stuck.” Jonker's experience is that the onion sets are currently doing well. Winter onions have also finally started to grow well.

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Less sowing seeds
At both Hazera and De Groot en Slot, salespeople notice that growers order less seed for the same acreage. The price difference between fine, medium and coarse onions is growing. Onion sellers notice that customers more often choose a large onion. Just last year there was an abundance of fine product. “This was certainly the case in the southwest,” Boot says. “This is due to the trip damage and the cold spring. You notice that fewer units per hectare are sown this spring. Growers go back from 4 units to 3,8 or 3,6. On sandy soil, or with primed seed, this is even less.

Jonker sees the same picture this season. “Last year, a relatively large amount of seed was delivered because growers had a shortage. This year they are more likely to have a bag left over. Arable farmers are more conscious about cultivation. Sowing is done accurately and crop protection is also closely monitored. Because more primed seed is used, the quantity also decreases.” The Hazera man also mentions the seed quality. “The germination energy has improved, which means better emergence.”