Dutch Crop tour Week 36
Potato growers are hoping for drier weather
The potato plots of the Boerenbusiness Crop tours have again received a lot of precipitation in the past week. The local differences are large . The heavy rain often fell in a few hours.
The plot in Dronten in particular had to deal with a lot of water last weekend. In Zeeland and Friesland, too, water came pouring down from the sky.
| Plot | Precipitation in mm in 1 week |
| Dronten (Flevoland) | 52,6 |
| Appelscha (Friesland) | 27,9 |
| Scharendijke (Zeeland) | 36,8 |
| Oldeholtwolde (Friesland) | 29 |
| Someren (North Brabant) | 24,6 |
| Middenmeer (North Holland) | 21,8 |
| Cuijk (North Brabant) | 18,8 |
| Ens (Flevoland) | 16,5 |
| Hank (North Brabant) | 14 |
| Fijnaart (North Brabant) | 8,4 |
| Average: | 25 |
With 52,6 millimeters, the most precipitation fell in Dronten. "Enough is enough now," says the grower. "The soil has been sufficiently able to absorb and process the rain. I don't need more precipitation, it's enough and the potatoes don't need much more."
Precipitation promotes growth
The grower in Appelscha in Friesland is satisfied with last week's almost 28 millimeters of rainfall. "My potatoes are still green and are still growing. The precipitation ensures more growth, so I am satisfied with this. There were fierce showers with a lot of wind, which caused the foliage to lie down. I expect this to recover."
The situation on the other side of the country is very different. In contrast to Appelscha, the plot in Zeeland Scharendijke is dead and no longer has any growth opportunities. "It was very dry here. It hurt my hands when I started digging in the back. Still, the precipitation is nice to improve the harvesting conditions," says the grower from Scharendijke. There is still some left of the stem, the grower expects that it will no longer grow and the potatoes will be harvested in mid to late September.
No need for rain now
Fijnaart in Brabant has received the least amount of precipitation. In the past week, 8,4 millimeters fell there. ''The moisture balance on the plot is currently good and I can't wait for more rain now. Rain is still allowed to fall in mid-September so that the lifting conditions are better." The growth has not yet stopped and the foliage is still vital on the heavy soil, which surprises the grower from Fijnaart. "I had expected that the growth there and now would be out, but they will continue to grow and that will continue for a while, I expect."
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