Lots of rain on the West Brabant plot

About 29 millimeters of rain fell on the plot in West Brabant on Tuesday 20 May. It also rained heavily on Thursday 31 May (about 15 millimeters). Nevertheless, the potatoes on the plot are in good shape.

There is a preventive fear of the heavy rainfall at the beginning of this week. That has prevented a lot of damage, and fearing with an erosion stopper has also had a beneficial effect. As a result, the moisture is better distributed over the backs. The potatoes were planted on 9 May and surfaced on 21 May, the last potatoes are now also emerging. This is a bit later than usual.

The plot is almost 9 hectares and the soil consists of light clay (30% silt) with an organic matter content of 3,3% and a pH of 7,1. Before the potatoes were there, there used to be celeriac.

operations
Plowing was carried out at the beginning of November 2017. At the beginning of May, a basic fertilization of 400 kilos of ammonium nitrate was then given. An additional 40 cubic meters of pig slurry per hectare has also been applied. On 9 May the potatoes were planted with a pitcher planter and 1 day later the ridges were feared.The rainfall has not yet caused any serious problems. 

Click here to go back to the Crop Tour page.

Anne-Jan Doorn

Anne Jan Doorn is an arable expert at Boerenbusiness. He writes about the various arable farming markets and also focuses on the land and energy market.

aj.doorn@boerenbusiness. Nl

© DCA Market Intelligence. This market information is subject to copyright. It is not permitted to reproduce, distribute, disseminate or make the content available to third parties for compensation, in any form, without the express written permission of DCA Market Intelligence.