Dutch Crop tour onions - week 34
Onions are in full swing and bulbing, but not everywhere
The plots of yellow seed onions are currently being planted in full swing. The necks buckle in both the south and the north of the country, whether it is sown early or much later in the season. Growers see that kilos are now growing at this stage, although the swelling process is not easy everywhere. MH spraying has already taken place in many places.
The spreading of the seed onions has been going on for some time, but this season it started later on many plots than in other years. Many plots were sown much later than normal due to the wet spring, which means that the crop has simply had fewer growing days so far. What is also different from other years is the time of ironing per area. In the south of the Netherlands, onions traditionally grow a little earlier than in the northern regions due to the earlier sowing dates. That is not the case this year. Due to the wet weather, growers in the north, center and south simultaneously seized the opportunity to sow when the soil was suitable. As a result, plots throughout the Netherlands are starting to level out more or less.
Ironed evenly
At the Crop tour plot in Marknesse (Flevoland), about 50% of the onions have already been harvested, says onion grower Peter Holster. He is satisfied with the condition of the crop on his plot after such a growing season and has had the MH on it for a while. "There are beautiful bulbs under a plant and I am quite satisfied with the condition of the plot. I may be a little earlier than average with the MH spraying, but in my experience earlier spraying gives better results in storage. I certainly do not spray too early or when the crop is still too vital. By being there on time, you have a better absorption of the MH." According to Holster, it is a challenge every year to find the right time for MH spraying.
The yellow onions have also been completely ironed in Lepelstraat in North Brabant. Onion grower David de Wit indicated that the ironing did not really continue, but that everything quickly went down after last weekend. He expects that he will still gain weight during this period. "The foliage is still nice and green. This week we had some precipitation again and that is good for the crop. However, the harvest time is approaching. We will start harvesting in about two weeks." The MH spraying was also successful at De Wit. This already took place 2 to 3 weeks ago.
The other participating growers in the Crop Tour are also planting onions on their plots, both those sown relatively on time and the somewhat later plots that only went into the ground in May. This is also clearly visible in the plot in Kimswerd, which was one of the last to be sown and has now started being pruned. Growers indicate that plots or parts of plots that have a more hollow position have more difficulty with ironing than areas where the position is more regular. The bulbing of the onions is also in full swing. After ironing, a lot of extra kilos can grow, growers speak from experience.
After recent years, the ironing and rounding process does not happen automatically everywhere, even this season. Bart Schriever, Benelux sales manager at De Groot & Slot, sees this. "We also see that there are plots where bulbing and ironing the onions is difficult. These often concern plots that were sown later this season or have a hollow position. This has various reasons, such as plant loss due to the bean fly. But also the many water from this growing season has influenced the level. It therefore makes it more difficult to determine the correct MH moment."
According to Schriever, the laborious ironing is not limited to a specific area and the regional differences are sometimes very large. "Plots that are difficult to iron occur throughout the Netherlands. You cannot really point to one area this season. Sometimes the difference between plots close to each other is even very large. An early-sown plot with many kilos and a natural ripening then alternates with the plot where bulbing has yet to begin. Unfortunately, you continue to see this difficult start to the growing season until harvest."
Jesse Torringa
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