Major differences in test harvesting figures Crop Tour

The trial harvesting of the onion plots of the Boerenbusiness Crop tours show a varying picture. How is the crop doing and what are the forecasts?

Last Monday (24 August) test harvests were done on the plots with seed onions of the Boerenbusiness Crop tour. These trial harvests were carried out in collaboration with Uienhandel.com. 2 times a square meter was harvested on each plot to get a good idea of ​​the expected yield.

_{*Yield in tons of kilograms. 15% of the proceeds have been deducted because of spray marks etc.} 

"The onions can still grow, so I'm satisfied with the current status and gross yield," says the grower from Kimswerd. Due to the strong winds of the past few days, the onions have started to iron and are declining. The grower finds it difficult to judge whether the yield was in line with expectations: "Trial harvesting is always difficult, I dare not say much about it."

Onions given up early
The grower in Heijen has a lower yield than last year. "I foresaw that it would be a lower yield. Due to the heavy rain in February, the ground has become hard. This made it difficult for the onions to get deeper than 10 centimeters into the ground." 6-7 weeks ago, the grower saw that the yield would be less than last year. Yellow tips appeared on the onions and the onions stopped growing. "The onions gave up early, the ground was too hard, so there's no more this year."

Seedbed big culprit
Dronten has the lowest gross yield of the Crop Tour plots this year with 26,6 tons per hectare. "My expectation was around 25 tons per hectare. We were not able to create a good seedbed this year, so there was no good turnout." On the parcel in Dronten, there is plenty of variegation and the onions are thin. Urea was recently sprayed on the onions to push the onions, so that the onions grow longer.

Above average yield
"The yield is above average here in Tollebeek", the grower tells Boerenbusiness† The average yield in Tollebeek is around 70 tons and the grower is satisfied with his onions this year. "The position of the onions is good. Some places less than others, but the average position is still good." The onions have been ironed in various places, but there is still growth potential in the onions in various places. 

Less yield is expected
The grower in Wezup expects less yield than indicated in the trial harvesting. "70% of the plot looks like the trial harvest, the high parts of the plot still lower the average." According to the grower. The higher parts of the plot have had dust damage and less moisture than the rest. The stand is thinner and worse here. The grower is satisfied with the growing season and hopes that the bad spots will continue to grow.   

Less places gives hope
The grower from Kortgene expects to harvest around 50 tons and is satisfied with the expected gross yield. "The good places are beautiful and I am satisfied with that, unfortunately I also have lesser places this year. I did not expect much from this, but they have grown better than I expected." About a third of the lot is a heavier section and had a poorer turnout. As a result, there was plenty of duality in the plot and a thin stand visible on the heavier parts. "It's amazing that the heavier parts have grown so well."

Higher than the rest of the Netherlands
Boerenbusiness and Uienhandel.com expect the average gross yield of 56,48 tons per hectare to be above the national average. Due to the outliers in Tollebeek and Wezup, the average goes up. Dronten lowers the average, but this does not outweigh Wezup and Tollebeek. All growers see differences in the field, and many growers see differences in the field due to the double crop and the thin setting. As a result, the positions on the plots are not the same everywhere. The growers everywhere are satisfied with the yields and hope that the market will get going. 

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