To hoe or not to hoe in the sowing onions?

Now that the crops are used to the higher temperatures, the seed onions have grown considerably. Hoeing can be done to promote growth. What are the pros and cons of hoeing?

In the north and center of the Netherlands, the plots sometimes develop a substantial crust. A rain shower or sprinkling solves a lot, but that is not always the case. In some areas, the hoe is therefore passed through the sowing onions in order to get more oxygen into the soil. It also allows the soil to warm up better. The hoes go 2 to 3 centimeters deep so that the onions grow well again when the soil is closed. Sometimes certain weeds are also suppressed. Another option is to harrow the plot or a combination of these.

Dirk Binnema, onion grower in Eenrum (Groningen), is in favor of hoeing: "At the moment my onions are still too small, but they will certainly come. A few days after hoeing, you no longer recognize your own onions, so brighten them on that!"

Hoeing also has disadvantages
Hoeing in the seed onions is very precise work and also has disadvantages. It can cost your plants and can also affect the roots. In addition, the onions must have a certain size, because the small seed onions fall over when the soil is broken open. A shame, because these plants cost you yield.

Onion grower Klaas Jan Boer from Kortgene (Zeeland) sees the benefits of hoeing, but still refrains from doing it: "The crop often improves greatly, but I don't start it. I don't want to wake up new weeds and also no hair roots damage in the crop. Even more important is not to let the soil dry out extra."

Hoe robot in Dronten
On the Crop Tour plot of Aeres Hogeschool Dronten, the new hoeing robot from Nijk Agrarische Dienstverlening was used on Thursday to hoe between the seed onions. The robot is equipped with a Garford camera that makes it possible to hoe very accurately in various crops. Arable farming student Willem van Tilburg looked back on a successful afternoon: 'The hoeing went quite well. The hoeing robot still needs to be optimized, but it did its job well today.' In addition to hoeing, the plot was partly cleared.

 

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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