Planting season starts: every grower has his own strategy

Due to the dry weather conditions this spring, potato growers are starting to plant early. The technique used to get the potatoes into the ground depends on the type of soil, but the grower's personal preference also plays a role. One person may choose all-in-one, while another sees advantages in multiple work steps. Five participants in the Crop Tour tell us how they plant their potatoes.

Gybert Doggen from Wouw (North Brabant) farms on sandy soil and does all the work in the spring. "We start by reducing the green manure and the grassland. Then we spread manure and plough the land. In the past we worked a lot with non-inversion tillage (NKG), but we have changed our mind."

Sandy soil: everything in spring
Gybert plants the potatoes in the plough groove with a vibrating tine on the front of the tractor with the planter. "We choose to earth up afterwards with an earthing hood with cultivator tines. That way we can tackle the first emerging weeds right away." After the ridges have been built up, a soil herbicide is sprayed. "I think that in the future it will be necessary to drive more often with the earthing up machine, certainly if soil herbicides become less available."

Heavy river clay: early autumn cultivation
Daan Tap from Elst (Gelderland) farms on heavy river clay and has a different approach. "We prefer to plough as early as possible in the autumn. For planting, we use a cup planter with a front cultivator. Later, we mill the ridges." The reason for this method lies mainly in the soil type: "Our clay is too heavy to do everything in one operation. By milling and planting in separate operations, we can work with a lighter planting combination. That is better for our conditions."

Changing soil
Jan Kolhorn from Uithuizermeeden (Groningen) adapts his working method to the type of plot. "This year we ploughed in the autumn, because this was grassland. Normally we dig everything in the autumn. If necessary, we can also work in the spring on lighter soil types." Before planting, Jan makes the soil fine with a cup harrow in front of the tractor and a cultivator behind it. "We plant with a cup planter with ridging hood. This way we can create the ridges properly right away."

Two passes for precision and nutrition
Brian Salomé from IJzendijke (Zeeuws-Vlaanderen) grows potatoes on plots with NKG. "I try to do a pre-treatment over the frost with a wing share cultivator, so that it dries better in the spring and the green manure can decompose. Brian works efficiently during planting: "We till and plant in one operation and at the same time apply FertiPhos (phosphate) in the row. We do the tilling separately, also because we can then also apply calcium (full-field) and nitrogen (in the row)."

All-in-one approach
Ruud and Lotte Steinbusch from Voerendaal (Limburg) opt for an all-in-one approach when planting their potatoes. In the hilly landscape of Limburg, erosion is an important point of attention and NKG is almost mandatory. Before planting, the soil is worked with a tiller-plough combination. Then, milling, planting and earthing up are done in one operation. This method helps to better protect the soil against erosion.

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