Stems are currently saving the potatoes

Due to the heat of the past 2 weeks, the foliage of the potatoes has started to wear off on the potato plots of the Boerenbusiness Crop tour. As a result, the potatoes extract the strength from the stems to grow. 

In Scharendijke (Zeeland) the growth of the potatoes has stopped completely. ''There has been no precipitation here for a week in combination with temperatures around 30 degrees. As a result, the foliage and the stem wear out and the growth of the potatoes is as good as gone."

Growth is still serious
There is still serious growth in the potatoes on the 2 North Brabant plots in Someren and Cuijk. This is because the stems are still vital and the foliage is still quite green in Someren. 

''I have to get my barrels from negative contract cultivation, so I'm glad they're still growing through the stems. They are still growing seriously here, so that's positive'', says the grower from Cuijk.

The grower from Someren will probably be irrigating 30 millimeters for the last time this Thursday or Friday. ''The potatoes are still looking good, despite the weather of the past few weeks. The underwater weight is still low, so there is still considerable growth potential.”

Rain against the heat
"We got the potatoes through the heat pretty well. We mainly sprayed to cool down. Next week it could be different, of course, but so far I'm not too bad," says the grower from Dronten (Flevoland). The grower hopes that the temperature will drop and that there will be some precipitation on his plot next week. 

Warm in the back
In Fijnaart, the temperature of an open back was recorded. It has been around 27 degrees in that back for several days. The grower also measured how warm it is in a ridge that is still protected by foliage and stems. There it was an average of 4 degrees colder than in the open back. ''The foliage is wearing off due to the heat, the stems now provide production. Where about 2 tons per hectare could be lifted 31 weeks ago, this is now around 49 tons per hectare. This indicates that there was still serious growth in the past 2 weeks''. 

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