Harvest season has started: stay alert for sunburn

Many plots of seed onions are on their way out, some have already been harvested and in some cases even loaded. If we look at the weather forecasts, it is inevitable that many more plots of seed onions will be harvested in the coming period. Especially now that stable and dry weather is forecast for the next two weeks. 

Last year, the onions suffered from sunburn during the harvest period, especially on the blacker sandy soils in the east of the country. The reason for the team of De Groot en Slot to draw your attention to the fact that you need to take measures to limit the risk of sunburn as much as possible.

• Monitor the UV index and do not schedule harvesting or loading operations when the UV index is 7 or higher.
• A crop that is still green is more sensitive to sunburn than a fully matured crop. A freshly green harvested crop is more sensitive. 
• Avoid harvesting and loading operations at temperatures above 28°C. 
• Also check the temperature of the onion; above 40°C the cells become weaker and damage to the cells occurs more quickly. 
• Harvesting or loading in the morning gives the onion more time to cool than when you harvest in the evening. 
• By sprinkling the onions with 10 millimeters in the evening/night, they cool down better, so that you can harvest or load them the next morning. This has yielded many positive experiences.

If you have any questions regarding the above, please contact contact contact your account manager.