Weed control a piece of cake, onions don't grow super

Weed control in the seed onions is going well so far. Thanks to the precipitation at the beginning of May, the soil herbicides did their job well. The onions on the plots participating in the Boerenbusiness Crop tour continues to grow reasonably well, but the onion crop does not grow like cabbage everywhere. 

The effectiveness of soil herbicides is reflected in the meager weed pressure on the plots. On average, the onions continue to grow well, according to growers. But something really needs to happen in the coming weeks, because the month of June has arrived. The poor weather of recent times, with the north wind bringing quite a bit of cold, seems to be causing some stagnation in growth. That is what onion growers indicate.

More even growth through fertilization
Peter Holster's onions from Marknesse (FL) are growing well. Weed pressure can be well controlled by spraying soil and contact herbicides. Only ragwort is present on the plot. This has been chosen to dot this by hand. When the first pipe is 10 centimeters, the grower will fertilize the onions for the first time. Holster chooses to carry out the fertilization in three rounds, spreading 100 kilos of fertilizer 16 0 30 in an interval of two weeks. Due to the longer fertilization period, this approach results in a more even growth of the rings in the onion, Holster indicates.

The plot in Lepelstraat (NB) is irrigated. After irrigation, the spraying was carried out with Wing P. The onions continue to grow nicely after the water they have had.

Last week, spraying was carried out in Philippine (ZL) to spray the barley to death as a dust cover. It can already be seen that the barley is turning yellow, which gives the onions more and more room to grow.

In Veelerveen (GR) the onions are irrigated on the heavier soils. Not because the onions lack moisture, but because of the crust and cracks that form in the soil. "In this way we ensure that the onions keep up with their growth," says René Haaijer. "Growth at this time of the season is often a bit slow." However, there is still some work to be done on the onions to get the plots completely weed-free, which requires some extra work. 

The onions at Arjen Jakobs in Wezup (DR) are growing nicely. It is also the first sown Gewastour plot. The soil is still nice and moist under the onions, the grower reports.

The onion plot in Kortgene (ZL) is clean of weeds this week. Klaasjan Boer has now sprayed contact agent once after the soil herbicides. "The onions are clean now, so I'm waiting to spray contact herbicides first. By waiting now, I hope the onions continue to grow better despite the poor weather. The growth is a bit disappointing to me. It's also a vulnerable growth stage where the onions are in. The sugar beets are growing better than the onions."

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