“Chances remain despite the initial challenges”

 Buyer at Waterman Onions and seller at uienzaadonline.nl: Jelmer Elzinga, describes what caught his eye during the 2023 growing season. In his regular column, Jelmer reports on the development of onion sets and seed onions in the Netherlands. To say the least, the start of the growing season was “challenging”. Jelmer: “The season got off to a late start due to the wet and cold spring. Because of the variable conditions, we had to ‘snatch time’ between showers to sow.”

Start of the season
The seed onions were sown between February and May, making this a protracted sowing season and we still see these differences in the field, which is why it’s difficult to provide a general picture. Jelmer: “Due to the delayed sowing and the cold and poor weather, the foliage development is behind in comparison to last year. After more than a month of cold weather, followed by a month of warm and poor weather, we have finally seen good growing weather during the last few weeks and the better plots are now picking up considerably. However, in some places, recovery may have come too late and bulb formation will have to take place on (too) little foliage growth.

Soil structure
For a long time the soil was too wet for sowing and this had to take place between showers. Consequently, not all the soil was dry or of sufficient quality at sowing time. This is evident in plots where the soil wasn’t yet at its best. The mediocre structure, combined with the effect of the soil herbicides, is reflected in the development. As a result, foliage development is lagging behind in some plots.

Onion fly
Due to the removal of the insecticide coating a few years ago, combined with the late and cold spring, there are significant problems with onion fly. This has resulted in considerable crop losses in areas where the prevalence is higher. Despite current (bio)chemical and alternative crop protection products, this is challenging and, in practice, it is almost impossible to keep onion fly damage under control.

Thrips & fungal diseases
“Since the longest day we have also seen the first thrips in the onion plots. In some places numbers were negligible, but in others significant numbers of thrips were found in the onions. As we have experienced frequent rainfall since 20 June, the risk of fungal diseases is also increasing,” says Jelmer. Meanwhile, some onion plots are occasionally showing signs of pink root. Jelmer continues: “Now that we have a limited number of crop protection products, it is important to prevent fungal diseases in the foliage. The advice is to spray regularly and to alternate the active substances where possible.”

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