Crop tour onions - week 19
Onion growers reseeded heavily last week
Favorable sowing times are limited this season, so time must be taken when possible. Last week it was possible again for a few days, during which onion growers once again made a considerable success with sowing. Even though they sometimes had to settle for inferior circumstances. One bright spot is that the seed germination is very fast.
There have been few opportunities to sow onions this season due to the heavy and persistent rainfall, let alone very favorable sowing conditions. A small portion was sown at the end of March and sown in mid-April a big blow by many onion growers. Last week too, a lot of progress was made in the plots that participate in the Boerenbusiness Crop tour. Many were hastened by the expected precipitation in and after last weekend and would have preferred to sow under more favorable conditions. But "sometimes you have to settle for less, after all, it's not April anymore," was one grower's response.
85 to 90% of area sown
The fact that a lot was sown last week is confirmed by Bart Schriever, Benelux sales manager of De Groot & Slot. "The sowing is well underway. We estimate that nationally 85% to 90% of the Dutch onion acreage has now been sown. Sowing has been done in all areas and there is not really an area that is lagging far behind. It is here and there some plots, mainly heavier and wetter plots, where sowing has not yet taken place."
Across the border in Belgium, Schriever sees that the sowing of onions is lagging further behind. Growers there have had even fewer opportunities to sow than in the Netherlands due to heavy rainfall. "In Belgium, sowing is lagging behind enormously. There, we estimate that only 60 to 70% have been sown nationally. In West Flanders, the largest onion region in the country, growers have only been able to do little due to the wetness in combination with the heavy clay soils. do this spring".
'Otherwise there would have been no need to sow after the rain'
It is also apparent that a lot was sown last week Boerenbusiness Crop tour. Onion grower Hubert Linders from Nederweert in Limburg sowed his plot before the heavy rainfall on Thursday and Friday. It is now very wet again in the region after more than 40 millimeters and more, which means that no more onions will be sown in the coming days.
Onion grower David de Wit from Lepelstraat (North Brabant) also sowed his Crop tour plot last week. They had already sown another plot in mid-April and this is already up, but the Crop Tour plot had not yet been successful due to the wet conditions. De Wit says that the plot concerns heavy clay soil. It was plowed in the fall and then rotated to level it. This way they could till the soil once with the speed harrow just before sowing and then sow immediately. This was successful, although he indicates that the subsoil was not yet suitable enough: "We worked the land with the speed harrow and were then able to sow nicely in the solid soil. The sowing went well, but the subsoil was not yet very good. and actually still too wet. But time is also running out. If we had had to sow after this rain, I think it would have been too late.
Onion grower Ruud Vossebeld also sowed his plot with onions last week. He is satisfied with the sowing, but indicates that it was wet on the plot. "We first plowed the plot and the next day worked it with the harrow. A day later we sowed and that went quite well. Every now and then we had a spot where you sank a little deeper because it was still too wet. But that you have in a season like this, that's no different." The seeding unit per hectare is 3,9 to 4,0. Vossebeld says that he normally sows less per hectare, but he wanted to have slightly more plants.
Vossebeld is happy that the onions were sown before the rain, while afterwards he is also pleased that he did not burn the plot with Roundup. "We have had a total of 30 millimeters, so we are at a standstill again. At first I also wanted to burn the plot with Roundup, but afterwards I am glad I did not do that. Otherwise it would have washed in and that was not good been".
Many onions were also sown in the north of the Netherlands last week. This is also the case with onion grower Reinder Hogenhout, who sowed his Crop tour plot on Friday, May 2. Hogenhout says that a nice rain shower fell during the night from Saturday night to Sunday. "The precipitation was not necessary, because we sowed nicely in the moisture, but the soil likes the connection this way." Sowing went satisfactorily, but the wet conditions also have an influence here. "You have to make sure that you have finished preparing the land in one go. With these conditions you should not drive over the seedbed too often. In addition, get some air out of the tires. We prepared the land with a harrow at the front and at the back of the tractor. That went well."
Jesse Torringa
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