Interview Tony Hendrickx
'Grain growing competition difficult due to drought'
Cooperative CZAV participates in the British grain cultivation competition YEN. The main aim is to gain knowledge about wheat cultivation. Dot on the horizon is a yield of 15 tons of wheat per hectare. However, this will not be achieved this year due to the drought.
Ton Hendrickx, advisor at CZAV, believes that the importance of wheat cultivation in the Netherlands is underestimated. He sees that countries such as England are surpassing us in terms of knowledge about cultivation. He therefore sees the wheat cultivation competition as an important means of raising cultivation in the Netherlands to a higher level.
You have achieved yields of 15 tons of wheat per hectare in the past. Will that also work this year?
"It looked very good at the start of the season. We are participating in the competition with 12 plots. There was a lot of enthusiasm from growers. We counted the number of plants early on, kept a close eye on the initial development and flew with drones. Yield expectations were very good. However, then the drought started to play a role. Indeed, we once 15 ton from a test field in Westmaas, but that is not yet the standard. In England they sometimes reach 15 tons per hectare."
There is talk of emergency ripe grains. Is that also the case with you, and how much smaller will the yield become as a result?
"The grain filling is very important at the moment. Moisture is needed for all processes, both for photosynthesis and respiration. The stomata are closed, which hinders growth. The nutrition is now also removed from the plant. I expect that (when we in time do not get rain) we get incompletely filled grains. At a certain point the seed is ripe, and the grains are then no longer filled properly. This results in a lower yield. The winter barley is now threshed. In the very early barley we see that the yield is about 1 to 1,5 tons less than last year. With the later barley harvest, the yield will be slightly lower, it was more affected by the drought."
Are you going to overtake the growers in England this year, and how much are they suffering from the drought?
"There are significant differences between the plots in the different countries. In England, limestone layers play a major role; limestone layers retain moisture well. The moisture-retaining plots (with such a lime layer) are the better plots. That's where the wheat is. We have few soils with limestone layers in the Netherlands, except in Limburg. So I expect a better yield in England. A positive point of the current weather, however, is that there is a lot of light radiation. That can have a positive effect on the harvest."
"The participating countries achieve high wheat yields anyway. Last year Denmark won one of the prizes. We are in the right latitudes for wheat cultivation. The world record for the highest grain yield has ever been achieved in New Zealand, and that country shares the same latitudes like here."
In the longer term, drought can become a problem. What can be done about this in the future?
"A plant that has roots at 35 centimeters (or 75 centimeters) now makes a big difference. To achieve deeper root growth, several factors play a role. I think breeding will play an important role in this. "In breeding, more attention is paid to the resilience of crops. In recent years, breeding has mainly focused on production. This has resulted in more dry matter above ground. That means less underground."
"Attention to soil fertility also remains important. This allows the plant to take root better. You are talking about getting rid of disturbing layers. In the competition, too, the emphasis is on the depth of the root. In fact, you have to plant the root in January already. 70 to 80 centimeters."
There is a lot of talk about tailor-made fertilization and precision farming. Could that also play a role?
"We are tackling everything. We are combining this competition with trials to improve cultivation, for example fertilization trials. We have also been advising sulfur in fertilization for a number of years. The manganese supply plays a role in the southern clay. In comparison, we are in the Netherlands. to English wheat, often lower on manganese. We also follow the fields with drones to measure the biomass."
What do you do better in wheat farming than others?
"I wouldn't say we're doing better. It's a project for knowledge. In the past, the Netherlands (70s and 80s) was ahead in the field of wheat cultivation. Now, however, much more research is being done in England , France and Germany. As a result, we lose that lead. It would be good if we look more at the benefits of wheat cultivation. Wheat can play an important role in good soil quality. A wheat stubble leaves 1.700 kilos of effective substance in the soil, at chopping the straw even 2.700 kilos per hectare."
"In addition, it is a dormant crop, and you can also tackle root weeds in it. It is also a good guide crop for precision agriculture. It is not only necessary to look at tons of price. Wheat as a pre-fruit for potatoes, for example, provides many benefits and after wheat can "A green manure crop is still excellent. Perhaps the most important thing is that wheat plays a pivotal role in the cropping plan. A higher wheat balance also brings the other balances to a higher level."
Anne-Jan Doorn
© DCA Market Intelligence. This market information is subject to copyright. It is not permitted to reproduce, distribute, disseminate or make the content available to third parties for compensation, in any form, without the express written permission of DCA Market Intelligence.
