First spray ban is a fact due to drought

The last serious rain shower dates from almost a month ago and that is clearly noticeable in the field. A cloud of dust during operation and spinning reels in the field. The first spray ban is now also a fact.

After a sun-drenched and dry month of March, April started with considerable (snow) showers and a considerable number of millimeters fell in most regions. Freshly sowed loam and clay growers were bitter at how a crust hindered emergence. Other growers embraced the rain showers, as in the south. It is striking for this month that precipitation only fell in the first week of April and it has remained completely dry since then - except for some sputtering.  

The area between Apeldoorn and Arnhem was the hardest hit in April and has had almost three times as much rainfall than the province of Zeeland. In the south of the Netherlands and parts of Friesland, the millimeters fell relatively well compared to the rest. Due to the precipitation, many growers suffered from crust formation on newly sown plots. Several growers of the Gewastour therefore have the sowing onions have to break the crust with a crust breaker or sprinkler. Potato growers, on the other hand, were a lot calmer and especially after the rainfall. 

Temperature
With regard to the temperature, April was half a degree cooler than average with an average of 9,3 degrees (KNMI† At the beginning of the month it was relatively colder, after which the temperature increased. Together with a sun-drenched March, the Gewastour participants were able to sow the onions at a rapid pace.

First spray ban a fact
Although there was still quite a bit of precipitation in April, the precipitation deficit is increasing considerably in almost all of the Netherlands. 2022 is now in line with the top 5 driest years, according to the drought monitor of the KNMI† It is even so dry in West Brabant that the Brabantse Delta water board has introduced the first abstraction bans for surface water this year. There is therefore a ban on irrigating agricultural land. So far this is the only area banned, but there's a good chance more areas will follow later this week.

Robin Winter

Intern at the Boerenbusiness Dutch Crop tour

r.dewinter@boerenbusiness. Nl

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