This year, according to a recent North Western European Potato Growers (NEPG) press release, EU-04’s potato harvest will be much more dependent on the production per hectare than the sown areas.
In the present days, the NEPG’s countries (EU-04 – Belgium, The Netherlands, France and Duitsland) het 'n inkrimping van 4,7% in gebiede wat aartappels saai, van 522,300 497,700 tot 24,600 XNUMX ha (-XNUMX XNUMX ha), het die organisasie se kenners bygevoeg.
'Daar was 'n afname in alle lande, maar veral in België en Nederland, wat die afgelope paar jaar die sterkste oppervlaktestygings ondergaan het, en wat ook die enigste is wat 'n gebied laer as die gemiddelde van 5 jaar het! Dit is 'n historiese gebeurtenis, omdat die gebied oor die afgelope twee dekades oor die algemeen jaar na jaar toegeneem het ", soos berig in die persverklaring.
Lys van onbekendes is nog steeds aansienlik
Of dit nou "nuut" of "ware" is aartappels, the list of unknowns is still considerable, also wrote the NEPG experts in their document. As for the early ones, the heavy rains of the last few weeks could prevent rapid build-up of dry matter in tubers. This could lead to delays in the delivery of contracts, and give some air to the last old potatoes of the 2020 harvest.
In alle lande het die aartappels baie blare ontwikkel, maar die knolle is baie kleiner as die gemiddelde. 'Baie tops, geen knolle nie' is 'n opmerking wat gereeld gehoor word. Tuberisasie van bewaringsvariëteite blyk hoër te wees as wat die afgelope 3 of 4 jaar die geval was.
“A high number of tubers is usually a sign of a good potential harvest, but of course enough water is needed in August and September to fill and make enlarge all the tubers. In the event of a heat wave and / or drought, the varieties of conservation could be affected much faster than in previous years, as the plants did not make a lot of (deep) roots”, as reported by NEPGse kenners.
Hoër produksiekoste en nuwe uitdagings
The production costs for the 2021-2022 growing season are already announced. According to the NEPG’s press release, the potato farmers will face an increase in the costs of sprays against mildew, in energy prices (diesel and electricity), and in fertilizer prices (liquid nitrogen has seen its price double in a few months, for example). Not to be mentioned everything related to construction: insulation materials, concrete, steel and wood have also increased dramatically.
Produsente is ook baie bewus van die nuwe uitdagings wat die hoof gebied moet word: meer variëteite is nodig, duursaam en robuuster, of dit meer bestand is teen laatroes of meer droogtetolerant en hitte. Daar is ook 'n behoefte aan variëteite wat minder kunsmis benodig en meer doeltreffend is.
