Heavy downpours in June still insufficient

After heavy downpours in the month of June, growers are not yet satisfied with the millimeters that have fallen. Many reels are already working overtime and that seems more than necessary with the weather forecast for the coming time.

Moisture was urgently needed, especially in the potatoes. Now that the potato crop has tubers, a good moisture balance is an important condition for good growth. If the potato plant receives too little, there is a risk that these tubers will give up. On average, there was 75 millimeters of precipitation in the month of June, according to weather data from the KNMI. This is slightly higher than the long-term average, which is 67 millimeters. Precipitation was very distributed this month. For example, the south of Zeeland only had to make do with 30 millimeters, while in Haarlem and central Brabant they had to process 100 millimeters or more almost everywhere. 

In addition to a very wet month, June also turned out to be a sun-filled month. With 282 hours of sunshine on average over the country, June was well above the long-term average of 212 hours. That means that we have had five sunny months in a row. February, March, April and May also had an above-average number of hours of sunshine. The temperature in June is this year with exactly 1 degree slightly higher than the long-term average, but is lower than last year. In previous months, the temperature was always higher in 2022 than in 2021. 

Due to the showers in June, the moisture in the soil has partly been replenished. This can also be seen in KNMI's graph on the precipitation deficit, in which the line of the precipitation deficit has already dropped several times in June. 

Many growers are only too happy to see more precipitation. According to them, the soil stock has still not been replenished. Also when looking at the AgroExact soil sensors, it can be seen that the suction pressure for many growers is between sub-optimal and irrigation. The soil sensors of Janssen in Escharen (North Brabant) and Kees Trouw in Hellevoetsluis (South Holland) show that irrigating is necessary again to maintain the development of the potatoes.

Robin Winter

Intern at the Boerenbusiness Dutch Crop tour

r.dewinter@boerenbusiness. Nl

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