Onions give up early after hot days

Insiders are cautious about making statements. With roughly 1 month of growth to go, the crops are not there yet. This is the crucial phase. Everyone agrees unanimously that the drought has dealt a blow. "The heat has been the biggest buyer last week," an insider summed up.

Foliage turns yellow
It is difficult to say exactly what the warm weather has cost in kilos. There is talk of an average of 10%, but the regional differences are large and can even reach 40%. By the way, the yellow points are clearly noticeable in many plots. The onion plots that have been irrigated are in slightly better condition on average. The reels worked overtime last week.

The irrigation bans and water quality also make irrigation difficult. Where there has been no irrigation, the onions have less foliage and the damage is greatest. Yet onion plots can be found throughout Flevoland that, despite repeated irrigation, are clearly on the decline. The people who Boerenbusiness in this region his speech was far from positive.

With an air temperature of up to 40 degrees or higher, the mercury in the crop also rose extremely high. The topsoil then became 50 degrees or higher. This results in a lot of evaporation. Since the plant pulls hard on the foliage, the tips turn yellow and the neck becomes heavy. This caused crops to be ironed far too quickly. Due to too little juice flow, the onion eats away and the (thin) neck kinks. The result is that onion plots (especially in Flevoland and the northeast of the country) have already been covered by up to 90%. The first MH sprayings are also being carried out.

North clearly less so
What this means for revenue remains to be seen, but insiders are gloomy. The ball-neck ratio is correct. The early sown crops are further in development. This is certainly not the case with onions sown later. In addition to Flevoland, this picture also applies to the Wadden coast and Northeast Netherlands.

There is also positive news to report from the southwest. The thrips pressure has increased here in recent weeks. The pests have become tame again due to this rain. For example, 28 millimeters fell in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen on Sunday April 40. The Zeeland islands were also treated to rain. Fortunately without hail, which a week earlier locally resulted in major crop damage.

Onion onion harvest resumed
Due to the rain, the onion onion harvest in the southwest can also be resumed this week. This was at a standstill in many places because harvesting and loading could not take place. Due to market developments, the harvesting work also came to a standstill. The onion sets are generally very coarse. Hail damage was limited to a few regions.

Growers are now wondering to what extent crops can still recover. If the precipitation had not materialized, they would have had just as bad a harvest as last year. The situation is currently the same as in previous years. Insiders expect that the south-west of the Netherlands will have a better harvest than the center and north. Here the average of 50 to 55 tons per hectare is not achieved. This is certainly considerably less in the northeast. In recent years, 70 to 80 tons have been collected there.

Situation reversed
Growers are not immediately afraid of regrowth of onions, also called 'onions'. This happened repeatedly last year. Especially with a very thin setting. Free-standing plants are extra sensitive to this. Although there are certainly plots with a variable condition due to bi-growth, the onions are on average even in terms of aging.

A short growth period remains for the early-maturing plots that are now being harvested. The yield will be disappointing here. On the vital plots, with 5 or 6 weeks of growth ahead, things can come to a happy end. Once again, onion cultivation in the Netherlands is strongly divided, but this year the penny is falling the other way.

The Onion Crop Tour, which follows 7 plots in the Netherlands, can match the national picture outlined. Here too there are plots that are accelerated ripen.