Sowing onions completed, but uncertainty among growers

The last onions will be sown this week, but many growers are now dealing with the first blow to the cultivation. In many regions, plant numbers leave something to be desired because of the crust. In addition, the acreage is expected to decrease slightly.

More than 90% of the onion acreage in the Netherlands has now been sown and the sowing season is expected to be over next weekend. According to various onion seed companies, the acreage will decrease slightly as expected. In addition, the yellow onion acreage will drop slightly and the red acreage will remain approximately the same.

Too few plants
Some of the onion growers experienced a false start due to heavy rainfall, which resulted in crust formation on the plots. Especially in Flevoland, but also in the north of the Netherlands, it is quite a challenge for the seedlings to get through. This is also clearly reflected in the Boerenbusiness Crop tour. According to Jaap Jonker, sales manager of seed company De Groot en Slot, the number of plants leaves something to be desired in certain areas: "The impression we have is that on average there are currently too few plants per meter. A few plants less is not enough. problem, but what we see now costs revenue". The result is a hollow stand as the season progresses. 

According to Jonker, it depends on the sowing technique you use, but you want to count at least twenty plants per linear metre. "Normally we count around 25 plants. Now you sometimes see that there are only thirteen to fourteen plants and that is on the scanty side." Jonker does emphasize that there are also good plots in between and that the season has only just started. "Due to a more hollow position, seed onions can become coarser and that does not necessarily have to be negative at the end of the cultivation."

The earliest sown onions seem to be doing best this season. They can be found in the south of the Netherlands. However, the drought has also played a part there. Some of the seed started later and reels were frequently seen in the field.

oversow
Despite the fact that onion growers are concerned about the scanty situation on their plots, relatively little is oversown, the seed companies report. No more than 150 hectares in the end. Often part of the field is already flagged and the question is whether onions that now have to be sown again actually give more yield.

Jesse Torringa

Jesse is an editor at Boerenbusiness and focuses in particular on the arable farming sector, including grain and onions. He also closely follows the fertilizer market. In addition, Jesse works on an arable farm in Groningen with seed potatoes as the main branch.

j.torringa@boerenbusiness. Nl

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