Have hailstorms harmed the onion fields?

Local heavy hailstorms fell in various places in the Netherlands last weekend. A great risk for the fields where the onions are just above the ground. How are the plots of the Boerenbusiness Crop tour for it?

The weather forecast this past weekend is diverse. While it was temporarily completely white from the hail in Dronten on Saturday morning, nothing fell in other municipalities.

Aeres Farms plot avoids the hail storm
The hail seems to have fallen very locally. The manager of Aeres Farms lives in Dronten himself. The field with onions is about 3 kilometers away as the crow flies and light to no hail has fallen here. Aeres Farms was the last of all the fields to sow in the Crop Tour, so the onions were not yet at the top.

The grower can speak of happiness with this, Boerenbusiness has received photos from the Dronten region that show that the hail has been well.

Hardly any consequences in Ysselsteyn
Hail has also fallen on the plot in Ysselsteyn. However, there have been too few cases to cause permanent damage to the onion. "If you look at the photos, we have escaped the dance well. Some hail has fallen, but this has no lasting consequences," says the grower.

Onions survive on Kortgene
There has also been a hailstorm on the plot in Kortgene (Zeeland). The first pipe(s) are there and the damage has yet to be looked at, but the grower is positive. "The onions will survive this hailstorm, several onions already have a pipe. The hail has hardly had any effect. I am curious about the development of the onions that come through and whether they are damaged by the hailstorm." A disadvantage of a hailstorm is the formation of a hard top layer. As a result, the onions that have sprouted may have a harder time coming through or may not come through at all.

That the situation is not the same everywhere is clear when we look at the other plots of the Crop Tour. No hail has fallen on the plots in Tollebeek, Wezup, Heijen and Kimswerd. The plot in Tollebeek was sown about 3 weeks ago and comes up almost equally. The grower says he is happy that he was spared the hail, otherwise reasonable damage could have occurred in the plot.

Plots hail-free
The plots in Heijen (Limburg) and Wezup (Drenthe) remained hail-free. This allows the onions that still come through to develop well. The last onions are still coming through in the heavier places in the plot in Heijen. “No hail has fallen on the property. Hail never really falls here in Kimswerd and we are happy with that, so that the onions are not disturbed during development', the grower says.

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