Belgium: Early French fries potatoes are now ripening quickly
Especially on unirrigated plots, potatoes of the early French fry variety Amora are ripening quickly. Ripening in Belgium is estimated at 70 percent. The yield gap between irrigated and unirrigated fields is unprecedented this year.
n non-irrigated Amora potatoes, there is hardly any weight gain anymore, according to test harvests by the Belgian research institute Viaverda on eight practical plots, primarily in Flanders. Of these plots, four are irrigated and four are not. On the irrigated potatoes, ripening is slower, and daily weight gain is still around 600 kilos per day.
The second trial harvest in Amora was carried out last week. The average number of growing days at that time was 107. Yields ranged from 17 to 53 tons per hectare. On the irrigated plots, the average yield of the test samples was 46 tons per hectare. On the non-irrigated plots, it was only 29 tons per hectare.
Compared to the multi-year average, the field plots with Amora are two weeks ahead. This is mainly because they were planted earlier than in previous years. The average planting date is March 23rd. Yields after 107 growing days are comparable to the multi-year average of 40 tons. However, with the caveat that the irrigated plots score above average, while the non-irrigated plots score significantly lower.
Fuente: nieuweoogst.nl
