Netherlans: Planting season starts and every grower has his own strategy

Gybert Doggen from Wouw (North Brabant) farms on sandy soil and does all the work in the spring. "We start by reducing the green manure and the grassland. Then we spread manure and plough the land. In the past we worked a lot with non-inversion tillage (NKG), but we have changed our mind."

Sandy soil: everything in the spring

Gybert plants the potatoes in the plough cut with a vibrating tine on the front of the tractor with the planter. "We choose to earth up afterwards with an earthing hood with cultivator tines. That way we can tackle the first emerging weeds right away." After the ridges have been built up, a soil herbicide is sprayed. "I think that in the future it will be necessary to drive more often with the earthing up, certainly if soil herbicides become less available."

Heavy river clay: early autumn cultivation

Daan Tap from Elst (Gelderland) farms on heavy river clay and has a different approach. "We prefer to plough as early as possible in the autumn. For planting, we use a cup planter with a front cultivator. Later, we mill the ridges." The reason for this method lies mainly in the soil type: "Our clay is too heavy to do everything in one operation. By milling and planting in separate operations, we can work with a lighter planting combination. That is better for our conditions."

Changing soil

Jan Kolhorn from Uithuizermeeden (Groningen) adapts his working method to the type of plot. "This year we ploughed in the autumn, because this was grassland. Normally we dig everything in the autumn. If necessary, we can also work in the spring with lighter soil types." Before planting, Jan makes the soil fine with a cup harrow in front of the tractor and a cultivator behind it. "We plant with a cup planter with ridging hood. This way we can create the ridges properly right away."

Two passes for precision and nutrition

Brian Salomé from IJzendijke (Zeeuws-Vlaanderen) grows potatoes on plots with NKG. "I try to do a pre-treatment over the frost with a wing share cultivator, so that it dries better in the spring and the green manure can decompose. Brian works efficiently during planting: "We till and plant in one pass and at the same time apply FertiPhos (phosphate) in the row. We do the tilling separately, also because we can then also apply calcium (full-field) and nitrogen (in the row)."

All-in-one approach

Ruud and Lotte Steinbusch from Voerendaal (Limburg) opt for an all-in-one approach when planting their potatoes. In the hilly landscape of Limburg, erosion is an important point of attention and NKG is almost mandatory. Before planting, the soil is worked with a tiller-plough combination. Then, milling, planting and earthing up are done in one operation. This method helps to better protect the soil against erosion.