News Theme Day Onions
Challenge for onion sector in cultivation and export
The Onions Theme Day of the Agricultural Fair Noord en Centraal Nederland (LNCN) discussed, among other things, the importance of the availability of freshwater in onion cultivation and the concerns about various pests and diseases. It turned out that the disappearance of the insecticidal seed coating Mundial is a cause for concern.
It was not about 1 theme (consciously or unconsciously); the market. Gijsbrecht Gunter of Holland Onion Association (HOA) wondered aloud how the last 150.000 tons will go and reported that the onion sector has let it go this season in terms of export. The countries that normally rely on Dutch onions did not receive them this year, which could have negative consequences for the future.
Freshwater availability
It was just one of the concerns that emerged on the theme day. Gunter also discussed, among other things, the availability of water for the agricultural sector. He stated that there is very little freshwater available in the world and that the agricultural sector uses 70% of it. In the Netherlands, most freshwater still enters via the rivers. "That has to be retained and so water storage is necessary, whether we call it depoldering or not."
He also stated that the past season is a writing on the wall and introduced the term 'water-inclusive thinking'. "It is very important for the agricultural sector that sufficient freshwater remains available, especially in onion cultivation, since onions generally have a small root system and little suction pressure."
Disappearance of Mundial
The fact that the insecticide seed coating Mundial is disappearing from the range of products is also a cause for concern. How is the sector dealing with this? The product may be used until 30 March 2019 as a seed coating on seed. Although seed companies indicate that this increased the demand for coated seed, the availability of coated seed is now coming to an end.
This makes it a challenge to control the onion fly in particular, but also the bean fly, wireworms and thrips. According to Paul Goorden of Cebeco, Mundial has a side effect that should not be underestimated on, among other things, wire ropes. "I already warn that wire ropes will become a big problem, also because the neonicotinoids to disappear."
Alternatives to Mundial
In order to still achieve good yields, the alternatives for controlling pests are becoming increasingly important. Uireka is researching those alternatives. An example of an alternative under investigation is a new active substance. However, it is not yet on the market. Nemguard (a product based on garlic extract) is also being investigated.
For the time being, the most important pesticide for the onion fly remains the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT). However, Janny Peltjes of HLB and De Groene Vlieg indicated that the entire area in the Netherlands cannot be controlled with SIT. "With SIT, the onion fly is now controlled on about 33% of the acreage. However, this works much better if several growers apply SIT in 1 area. HLB is therefore going to work more and more area-oriented and wants to apply SIT more cooperatively."
Harvesting later is detrimental to quality
Other diseases also continue to cause problems. For example, Chris de Visser, researcher on behalf of Wageningen University and Research (WUR) and Uireka, described that head rot can still be expected this year with an RNA test. He said that harvesting later (at 30% green foliage) will increase the yield of 5 tons, but that the quality of the onion will deteriorate. This is because, among other things, the skin resistance decreases.
Anne-Jan Doorn
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