Potato fields in sign of haulm killing

The southern potato plots of the Boerenbusiness Crop tour these days are dominated by haulm killing. Most potato growers hope to start harvesting at the end of September or the beginning of October.

On the plot in Hank (North Brabant) the potatoes are starting to die. "We don't spray the potatoes dead, but let them die naturally. This week and probably next week we will spray against phytophthora. We hope to be able to start harvesting in the last week of September." The grower indicates that he wants to load the onions first before the potatoes leave the field.

The grower is also very satisfied with the results from the trial harvesting† The plot has a net yield of 63,5 tons per hectare. "That's more than I expected. I also did a trial harvesting on another (simultaneous) plot and that resulted in a yield of 55 tons. That is also very neat. If that becomes my average yield , then I am certainly satisfied," said the grower.

Mixed feelings
On the plot in Fijnaart (North Brabant), haulm killing is also on the program, although the grower speaks of mixed feelings. "The plot is quite growing and dark and we have a good temperature in the plot (last week's average is about 18,5 degrees). The productivity is clearly good, but the average yield is already there. And then you have to You still have to keep the harvest risk in mind," explains the grower. In the trial harvesting of week 36, the plot resulted in a net yield of 53,2 tons. "As far as I'm concerned, the trial harvesting gives a good idea of ​​the expected yield." The aim is to start harvesting in the last week of September or the first week of October.

This is also the objective on the plot in Cuijk (North Brabant), although the potatoes go into storage there. "We give the plot another 10 days to die off and then spray it to death. About 30% is still growing and we want to let those stems grow out." Here too, the results of the trial harvesting are viewed with satisfaction: 54,7 tons. "I think it gives a realistic picture of what we can expect." In Scharendijke (Zeeland), the hope is that harvesting can start next week; the potatoes were sprayed here about 10 days ago.

Sufficient precipitation
In any case, sufficient precipitation fell on the potato plots last week. The plot in Scharendijke in particular shows that this is slightly better than last year throughout the season. Irrigation is not possible on this plot, but the yield (according to the trial harvesting in week 36) is still better than last season: 51,8 tons in 2020 versus 43,9 tons in 2019. This plot received 10,2 millimeters last week. precipitation.

Most precipitation fell on the potato plot in Dronten (Flevoland) in the past week. This Crop Tour plot received 35 millimeters of precipitation. The plots in Appelscha (Friesland) and Oldeholtwolde (Friesland) were also not short of precipitation last week: 33,5 millimeters and 29 millimeters of rain fell here respectively.

Kimberly Baker

Kimberly Bakker is an all-round editor at Boerenbusiness. She also has an eye for the social media channels of Boerenbusiness.

k.baker @boerenbusiness. Nl

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