Dutch Crop tour Onions - week 25
Foliage and heat require a lot of moisture from the onion crop
The growth is going quite well this year with the onions. Many plots are now closed, which means that mildew control is already being done in the seed onions. As the longest day approaches, the onion physiologically starts the process of bulb formation.
After a weekend in which summer temperatures were visible on the thermometer, the onion crop is currently extracting a great deal of moisture. While heavy showers seemed to be in the pipeline last week, unfortunately very little of them have come to fruition. The forecasts for this week indicate a return of the drought. The participants of the Boerenbusiness Crop tour currently very positive.
Fifth artificial rain shower
David de Wit from Lepelstraat (North Brabant) started irrigating his onions for the fifth time last weekend. In the past week, he only had 12 millimeters of rain, he says. "Due to the warm weather and the large foliage package, the crop is currently extracting a huge amount of moisture." Jacky Dieleman from Philippine (Zeeland) is also starting irrigating his onions for the second time this week. "We have only had 18 millimeters of rain recently. The crop has a huge foliage package and is growing well, so it is important to keep them growing well." Hubert Linders from Nederweert (Limburg) did get a welcome 9,5 millimeters of precipitation last weekend. In contrast to the South, the North has had quite a bit of rain recently. Last weekend, Arjan Jacobs from Wezup (Drenthe) had 14 millimeters of rain from a thunderstorm, bringing the total to around 70 millimeters in the past few weeks. Reinder Hogenhout from Kimswerd in Friesland also has nothing to complain about regarding the amount of precipitation. "From Pentecost until now we have had about 60 millimeters of rain."
Dieleman expects that the harvest of winter barley in the south of Zeeland can start on the earliest plots at the end of this week or the beginning of next week. The limited rainfall of the past few weeks probably plays a major role in that region. Hogenhout, on the other hand, says that the winter barley harvest in his area will take a while. "The crop is still grass green, but I am happy with the rain we have had. It fell in a few times and the onions can really use it at the moment."
Thrips pressure varies greatly by region
Jacky Dieleman has had a high thrips pressure recently. Last weekend he sprayed Batavia for the second time. He indicated that he had found 'enough' adult thrips. The first time was fourteen days ago. David de Wit also carried out thrips control for the first time just before the warm days. Dieleman also emphasised that if there is no rain in the coming period, the thrips will not be washed away naturally by the precipitation. "So it was really necessary to go there for the second time last weekend." Both Reinder Hogenhout and Arjan Jakobs indicated that they have not yet had any problems with thrips, partly due to the amount of precipitation. Jakobs says that the pressure in his area usually only increases when the first-year onions are harvested. Jakobs also indicates that he thinks the foliage is a bit limp, probably due to the rapid growth recently. "Due to the rain recently, it seems as if the crop is growing faster than there is strength in the plant," says Jakobs.
David de Wit has now sprayed twice against mildew, something he does not do every week as standard. "Through my work at Wageningen University, I am fortunate to work with mildew experts." De Wit also uses a BOS system, where he currently considers the chance of infection to be very low. "Although there are spores in the air, the chances of infection are minimal."
Jan Willem Veldman
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