Dutch Crop tour potato - week 20
First potatoes break through the ridges
It took a while, but the first potato plots are breaking through on the plots with Innovator participating in the Boerenbusiness Crop tour. The higher temperature helps and the precipitation these days only encourages growth.
Due to the planting data, the differences in emergence are still quite large at the moment, but the first plots are above and everything has been milled. Despite the drought, the potatoes are therefore on average earlier than with the cold and wet spring of last season. A big contrast, given that last season only a single grower was irrigated once. Now it has already been rained for potatoes.
Moisture content not yet critical
One of the first plots with Innovators that came through this week is located in Driewegen (ZL). The potatoes are on a fairly heavy clay soil, the top of which is quite dried out. Potato grower Daan Goense explains that precipitation is certainly necessary to maintain and promote growth, but there is no question of a critical condition. The heavy soil does not dry out hard at the bottom and when the roots have been dug out for some small plants, the roots have already found their way to the moisture. "The plot is one of my most difficult plots, but now with the moisture it's a big advantage. Sometimes your hardest plots are your best." Last Thursday there was 'only' 5 millimeters in total.
Irrigation before milling
At potato grower Herman Schlepers from Dronten (Fl), the reel was also pulled out before milling could begin. He had good experiences with this in an earlier growing season. The crop enjoys the rising temperature. He planted his crop tour plot after the early April rainfall and saw that plots planted before the rain sometimes suffered. "It was very disappointing in some places due to the heavy rainfall and lesser structure. You don't expect to have rotten potatoes on the heavy clay in the spring."
In between watering, there is also a lot of driving for crop protection. Schlepers is on schedule and has recently sprayed contact herbicides. Potato grower Kees Vrolijk from Fijnaart (NB) also made a round on the crop tour plot last Tuesday with 1,5L Gofor 1,5 + 0,2L Centium.
First phytophthora on the schedule
At Jacco van Liere, also in Dronten (Fl), the potatoes are looking good. He was the first to plant his crop tour plot of the participants and that has paid off. Jacco is also on schedule with spraying. He expects to do the first phytophthora spray in a week. The plot has now been able to enjoy 12 millimeters of precipitation, which it has had to wait for since the beginning of April.
Robin Winter
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