How far behind is the 2021 potato growing season?

The growing season has been going on for some time now, but there is absolutely no question of a smooth development of the potato crop. The potatoes are still far from being at the top of everything and are lagging behind on previous years. But how big is the difference compared to other years?

After 2 relatively dry springs and the extremely dry summer of 2018, it is cold and wet this year. The contrast is also clearly visible in the field. Last year the reels were running at the end of May and now the water is standing between the potato ridges in various regions. 

A clear overview of the Boerenbusiness Crop tour plots with the Innovator variety from the last 4 years. So far, the potatoes have not broken through on any plot. On the parcel in Dronten, the first stems hiccuped against the top layer, but there was still some earthing to be done. 

Coldest April since 1986
The main reason for the delay in the growing season is the lack of good spring weather. Due to the low temperatures, growth was minimal and some growers postponed planting potatoes. Night frost was therefore a regular occurrence for early April. April 2021 was therefore an extremely cold month with an average temperature of 6,7 degrees. For comparison, the long-term average for April is 9,9 degrees. The month of May has also been a lot colder than normal so far, with 11,2 degrees compared to 13,4 degrees (Source KNMI). 

Precipitation makes fieldwork difficult
Most growers started planting potatoes in mid-April. Due to the beautiful structure, the area of ​​planted potatoes rose sharply. But the large amount of precipitation that fell often brought farm work to a standstill. Although April started dry, it ended very wet and so far there has been little change. As a result, many plots were only planted after May 1. Even now that the beginning of June is approaching, not everything is finalized yet.

'Enough moisture and lots of stems'
Despite the fact that the speed of growth is disappointing and landwork still needs to be done, growers are not entirely dissatisfied with the precipitation: "The potatoes are lagging behind on previous years, but there are a lot of stems on them. The potato ridges are thoroughly wet and with you don't get that result by sprinkling. Great for growth, but we also want to be done once," says potato grower Dan Janssen, which still has to plant and rid itself of a part.

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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