Onion growers are happy with the rainfall and hope for a growth spurt

The precipitation provides relief for onion growers, but the amount of millimeters is still not enough. With the moist soil, attention is now on crop protection, where the first sprays against thrips have been carried out, among other things. The growers participating in the Boerenbusiness Crop tours have noticed that the growth retardation of the onions has not yet been made up for.

In general, the growers are happy with the rainfall and the thunderstorms have not caused problems in the fields. While only a few millimeters fell on the plots of the growers in Groningen and the center of the Netherlands, the south was treated to more precipitation. High time for many growers to carry out weed spraying again. For example, the Wing P spraying was carried out yesterday on the black soil in Marknesse (Fl). 

The onions in the Frisian Kimswerd were irrigated with 14 millimeters last weekend. Last Tuesday the onions were given another taste of water, but this time not artificially. With the 9 millimeters of precipitation, the onions currently have enough moisture to continue growing.

In Spoontail (NB) the onions now have the fifth pipe or some already have the sixth pipe. The longest pipe is now almost 30 centimeters, says onion grower David de Wit. The plot has now been rained a total of three times and received 18 millimeters of precipitation on Tuesday. After the last irrigation, the onions were also sprayed against thrips last week.

Onion grower Jacky Dieleman had 10 millimeters on Tuesday and is happy with the amount of precipitation. At another location in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen, they had 60 millimeters in half an hour. "I wasn't waiting for that either. The rain was nice for the onions and the chicory. The potatoes could have had more rainfall. That's why I'm going to irrigate the potatoes this week." As for the onions, they look good in terms of position, Dieleman thinks. "However, if you look at the date, they are a lot less developed than they were at this time last year."

First trips
The Gewastour plot in Kortgene (Zl) was also not skipped by the thunderstorms. "A total of 12 millimeters of rain fell here in Kortgene. This was a very nice shower for the onions. The potatoes could have used a little more rain, but I wasn't looking forward to those heavy downpours with hail either. This ensures that that the fertilizer that I spread two weeks ago can finally do its job," says Klaasjan Boer. He sprayed Wing P on Tuesday morning and the first thrips spray will be carried out at the end of this week.

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