Dutch Crop tour Onions - week 13
Irrigating onions before April 1: necessary or unnecessary?
Growers with seed onions have their irrigation system in the field remarkably early. With the spring of 2024 still in mind, that seemed unlikely. What strategy do the participants in the Boerenbusiness Crop tour onions in irrigation? It turns out that there are quite a few differences.
March 2025 has been an exceptional month in terms of weather conditions in the Netherlands to this day. Sometimes high temperatures, but mainly a lot of sunshine. As a result, arable farmers in the Netherlands were able to get started with their spring activities relatively early. For crops such as freshly sown onions or sugar beets, a shower of rain is now very welcome for an even start of the crop. However, the weather forecast for the next 14 days offers little hope for this. Although a (light) shower fell locally at the end of last week, the coming period also seems to be a continuation of the dry weather. Ideal for sowing onions, but due to the continuing good weather, the soil is drying out bit by bit, causing the seeds to become dry in some places.
To irrigate or not?
How do the onion growers who participate in the Boerenbusiness Crop tour against it? To calculate a freshly sown onion plot or not? The differences in approach are clearly visible among the participants. Arjan Jacobs from Wezup (DR) was sowing on Wednesday and chooses not to irrigate. "Still enough moisture in the soil", he says. David de Wit from Lepelstraat (NB) thinks differently about this and gets the reel out of the shed: "Some seeds have germinated, others are dry. The time for waiting is over." De Wit gives 11 mm of water, the conditions are good, there is no wind. Jacky Dieleman from Philippine (Z) says: "I sowed in nice moist soil 10 days ago, now it is just between a rock and a hard place." At Dieleman's, 65% of the seed has germinated. He initially intended to irrigate, but checking the onion seeds on the plot changed his mind. "It's not fat with moisture, but most of the seeds are coming. We're still leaving the reel in the shed."
Sowing depth important factor
Jesse Torringa, commercial promoter at De Groot en Slot, adds that the type of seed you use is also important. "If primed seed dries out, there can be extra losses." According to him, the sowing depth plays a role in the choice of whether or not to irrigate. Regardless of the soil type, De Groot en Slot advises 2 to 2,5 cm. "The irrigation ensures that the top layer of soil immediately becomes firmer and 'thinner'. In addition, if the weather continues to be dry (which is now expected), you may have to irrigate a second time if you sow too shallowly."
Reinder Hogenhout from Kimswerd (FR) and Ruud Vossebeld from Beemte Broekland (GLD) have not sown yet; they simply think it is too early. Klaasjan Boer from Kortgene (Z) sees the advantage of sowing early, because his onions are still in the moisture. Irrigation is not an option for him, so he has to make do with the circumstances as they are.
Jan Willem Veldman
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