Crop tour onions - week 30
Can we get a top yield of onions?
After a difficult start, the development of the seed onions seems to have improved considerably. The crop looks fresh on average, but the condition varies greatly between regions. In addition, the acreage for seed onions increased by 11%. Is there a top yield?
Due to a cold and wet period, growth lagged behind and the number of plants in the middle and north of the Netherlands was sometimes quite disappointing. Often a combination of the (too) good effect of soil herbicides and low temperatures. After a warmer period, the seed onions have continued to develop well, especially in the south.
South
The onion sets are far from all processed, but in the south the first seed onions will soon be harvested. The south is traditionally always the first to turn and this year also takes the cake. One of the main reasons is that the average temperature there was slightly higher at the beginning of the year, which made the start a lot better. On the sand in Limburg and North Brabant, the onions look good on average, such as on the crop tour plot in Ysselsteyn. The seed onions have started ironing and are still growing considerably. Limburg and North Brabant together account for more than 5.000 hectares.
In the province of Zeeland, good for 4.000 hectares of seed onions, the crop is in reasonable to good condition. In Zeeland, the onions are also on schedule, but they are not yet as far as in Limburg. From the side of the plot it is not always what it seems: "From the road it looks a lot, but once you go into the field it is sometimes a bit disappointing. Certain spots are lagging behind and occasionally missing It is, however, better than in recent years," reports Klaasjan Boer from Kortgene.
Central Netherlands
The province of Flevoland is almost 9.500 hectares seed onions account for 31% of the total acreage for seed onions in the Netherlands. Last week the first reels were running on the fields and some fields had a hard time, just like at the beginning of the season. The differences are great here: from a lot of foliage with many plants to a very moderate number of plants and moderate foliage development with a maximum of 6/7 pipes. There are very good plots where a good yield can be achieved with sufficient moisture and the absence of heat.
The position seems less on the heavier soils. The Crop Tour plot in Dronten is a clear example: a very slow emergence and the foliage package is relatively small. The small foliage package looks very fresh, but a high yield does not seem to be achieved in theory.
North Netherlands
The expansion of the onion acreage is mainly in the north of the Netherlands, with the seed onions on the sand in Drenthe leading the way. In the province of Drenthe, the acreage for seed onions increased by 39% to more than 2.295 hectares, followed by Groningen by 21% to 3.229 and Friesland by 16% to 1.427 hectares. Seed onions struggled at the start of the season and fields have been plowed in some regions. Here too, nice blocks of onions alternate with very mediocre ones.
What is particularly striking in the north is that the seed onions are on average 2 weeks behind schedule compared to normal. The bulging process seems to start more slowly and the foliage has been developing very fast lately. That is also the view of onion grower Arjen Jakobs from Wezup: "The seed onions are slightly behind on previous years. I also have more spot damage this year." In Drenthe too, the development seems to have slowed down considerably.
The Crop Tour plot in Eenrum (Groningen) looks good, especially if you look at the average image in the province of Groningen. The number of plants is sometimes disappointing in the region. Onion grower Dirk Binnema is satisfied with his seed onions. "The onions are in very good condition this year, better than previous years." But the bulging process also seems to have started a bit later on Binnema's plot.
Top yield
With the weather forecast, growth will continue in the coming weeks. The precipitation came just in time for many onion growers, so that the onions are provided with sufficient moisture again. Extreme heat seems to be out of the question for the foreseeable future. This means that quite a few tons can grow in the coming weeks. Especially when you consider that the area of seed onions from 2021 has increased by 11% to approximately 30.400 hectares, we may well achieve the highest yield of seed onions this year.
Jesse Torringa
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