Potato legs and tillers with a view of the rain

Arable farmers made great progress with potato legs last week, which is no superfluous luxury with the wind and rain of today (May 4). Most of the parcels of the Boerenbusiness Crop tour planted with the Innovator variety. Now we have to wait for higher temperatures before the start of the growing season.

The planting season started slowly due to the lack of real spring weather. After catching up at the end of April, the growers were running at full speed towards the finish. Unfortunately, the precipitation has largely flattened the potato plants. That is not a downer for everyone, because in some areas it started to get pretty dry.

Potato growers are done with legs
In Fijnaart (NB) the Crop Tour plot was planted with seed size 35/45. Last year several treatments were needed due to the drought, this year was different. Just before planting, manure was spread.

Kees Vrolijk has finished planting and can now use a rain shower: "The Crop Tour plot was one of the first to be passable because it was plowed last winter. The heavier soils were already on the dry side, they could use some water. had 10 millimeters here, so we can add something.'

At the Gewastour plot in Scharendijke (ZL) they are also ready with potato legs. The planter is back in the shed and the ridges have been earthed with the ridge mill. Planting was done at 34 centimeters with seed size 40/55. Last Monday (May 3) the first spraying was carried out against weeds.

Crop tour plot NKG in Hank
This year Jacob Branderhorst has all his potatoes on NKG (non-turning soil preparation) land for the first time. The plot in Hank (NB) has a siltability of between 35% and 45%. Due to NKG and the cold weather, Branderhorst was in no hurry with potato legs: "The NKG land is still quite moist due to the good capillary action. That was a big plus last year, but this year drying up is very slow due to the beautiful structure." The seed size is 45/50 and the plot is variably planted. The planting distance is more than 30 centimeters on average. 

The plot in Hellevoetssluis (ZH) was planted without any problems. The precipitation of last week has had a positive effect, because Kees Trouw is now busy milling the potato ridges. The conditions are good: 'Last week we had 16 millimeters. That's nice for the greeting. The milling of the potato ridges is also going very well. The temperature just needs to rise. The soil temperature is low and growth is not easy.' The seed size on the plot is 35/50.

Jesse Torringa

Jesse is an editor at Boerenbusiness and focuses in particular on the arable farming sector, including grain and onions. He also closely follows the fertilizer market. In addition, Jesse works on an arable farm in Groningen with seed potatoes as the main branch.

j.torringa@boerenbusiness. Nl

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