Onions benefit from the rainfall

After a late start, the seed onions develop quite well due to the rain. On average, the crop's appearance is very variable in the different regions. In the north of the Netherlands it has been raining for two weeks and in the south more than 10 millimeters fell for the first time last night.

Rain has finally fallen again in the south of the country. In Lepelstraat (North Brabant) 13 millimeters fell last night. This was much needed and hopefully some more will be added in the coming days. The onions are bulging at the moment and desperately need the moisture. The tips of the onions are starting to turn yellow due to the lack of moisture. The onions look nice. The differences between onion plots are big this year, says David De Wit. The thrips and fungi can be kept well under control. The price of the onions ex country is good. It is worth considering perhaps selling the onions off the land instead of storing them, says De Wit.

In the Noordoostpolder in Marknesse (Flevoland), Peter Holster is satisfied with the state of the onions, but not with the foliage package on his crop tour plot. "Normally there is much more foliage on the onions. This is also because I didn't irrigate the onions because I wanted to prevent fusarium in my onions. This was at the expense of foliage development. Despite the fact that I didn't irrigate, I'm already getting fusarium in my onions. I try to keep the onions green so that they can continue to grow. For this I spray fertilizers during the spraying. At the moment I keep a spraying schedule of six to seven days. I have not yet seen any mildew in my onions There are thrips present in the onions," says Holster.

On the Drenthe sandy soil in Wezup, the onions are doing well. The onions continue to grow nicely and foliage development can still be seen at FieldSchout, says Arjen Jacobs. "The onions have been sprayed with Batavia twice so far this season. That didn't happen with the onions last year and then the onions were completely covered in thrips. Now I have the thrips under control this year. A schedule is being drawn up for disease control. held for seven days. The disease control is going well at the moment. The weather is growing for the onions because of the precipitation that falls now and then."

In Eenrum in Groningen, the weather is growing for onions due to the occasional rainfall. It is currently 16 to 17 degrees. It could be a bit warmer, between 20 and 25 degrees, for really optimal growth, says Dirk Binnema. The onions are a week behind on growth compared to previous years. "The growth is there and I am satisfied with the number of plants. Due to the rain I have not yet had the opportunity to thresh the wheat." For disease control, spraying is scheduled every seven days.

About 100 millimeters of water fell on Reinder Hogenhout's crop tour plot in Kimswerd (Friesland) in the past two weeks. This is the Gewastour plot where the most precipitation has fallen in recent weeks. 

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