'I miss at least 10% of my potato yield'

There is increasing uncertainty about the yield of chips potatoes. The kilos seem to be disappointing and there are serious doubts about the quality. What kind of yield do the potato growers of the Gewastour achieve on average and what are the reasons behind this?

The potato growers of De Gewastour are not very positive about the field yield of 2021. Following the trial harvesting from weekend 36 the growers open a book about the average potato yield on their farm. No less than 50% of the growers think that the potato yield will be below the 5-year average. The other 50% think they will be around the 5-year average, but certainly not above it. Nobody expects to achieve an above-average yield this season.

There are several reasons why the potato yield is disappointing. The potato growers agree that the number of growing days this year was disappointing, especially at the start in April and May. The number of tubers per plant also leaves something to be desired, according to a number of growers. The amount of precipitation was often sufficient, also during tuber formation, but as the season progressed, more doubts arose. Both with Innovator and other varieties. The crop also deteriorated sharply at the end and the regrowth was disappointing. We haven't even mentioned the quality yet.

Shortage growing season
Given the foliage package, the absence of a hot, dry summer and the state of the crop, it seemed that growth would continue for a while. Nothing could be further from the truth, because in the Crop Tour the crop went down hard as August ended. Kees Vrolijk from Fijnaart (North Brabant) saw his crop decline earlier and faster than usual.

"The crop tour plot with the Innovator deteriorated earlier and very fast. We have to rely on the growth at the end, that is the strength of this soil. My other varieties are also deteriorating faster than normal. I think I'll be at least 10% because of this. have less yield at the end of the season," explains Vrolijk. According to the trial harvesting (week 37) the net yield was 50,2 tons per hectare. With this, Vrolijk has the lowest yield in 4 years.

Tonco Padmos, potato grower from Scharendijke (Zeeland), also claims to have a below-average potato yield this season. The plot gave up early and as a result, kilos are missing. "It's not the number of tubers on our Crop Tour plot, but the Innovators went down too early," says Padmos. A clear explanation why is difficult, but according to Padmos the amount of precipitation also plays a role: "The root system was not great. At the beginning of the season and in the summer they were spoiled with the precipitation and when it became dry they suddenly went very deteriorating rapidly. In addition, the quality of some varieties also leaves something to be desired."

Potato grower Herman Schlepers from Dronten (Flevoland) is also having a hard time this season. The crop has already completely died and during the trial harvests it came out at 40,6 tons per hectare. "I think the pre-fruit, which is sugar beet, has played a big role in growth this season." The crop has remained healthy, but planted very early (30 March).

Average Yield
Potato grower Kees Trouw from Hellevoetsluis (South Holland) achieved a net yield of 57,3 tons per hectare. "With these tons I will get to or around my long year average." He does not have a clear explanation of why Trouw comes to that conclusion. "During the tuber setting, we provided the plot with some extra moisture through sprinkling, but otherwise it just grew normally."

In Mill en Sint Hubert (North Brabant), Daan Janssen is getting an excellent yield, but due to the flooding of the floodplains, his average yield is falling far below: "The tuber setting was good this year and what is now below is certainly not disappointing. Unfortunately, I lost 20 hectares of potatoes due to the flooding of the floodplains, and if you count that, the yield looks very different," says Janssen. 

In the coming weeks there will be more clarity about the yield and the quality of the potatoes. The harvesting of the first potato plots is planned, but it is not that far yet. It is quite dry and growers like to see precipitation.

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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