Summer weather ... with what are quite large differences. In Limburg the outside temperature peaked at >30°C for days on end at times, while in the western part of the Netherlands that sort of temperature was measured on a few days only and in Friesland, for instance, the outside temperature seldom rose above 30°C. It is obvious that each crop and each region have their own climate type, especially when we also include the thunderstorms at the beginning of this week. Overall we can state that Arvento RZ can more than hold its own during demanding summer days, but a few things stand out, though:

Watering

We sometimes see differences of 8 - 11 litres/m² between nurseries, on the same day. Especially on extremely warm days it is vital to be very generous with watering between 11.00 am and 4.00 pm. You won't ever drown a plant at this time of year, unless the substrate is too wet by nightfall. Again, pay attention to the large output capacity of the nozzles, with too long intervals between watering rounds. Do stick to a good 3 - 3.5 times the radiation for the watering rounds between 11.00 am and 4.00 pm. Play around a little with starting and stopping times (and possibly an evening watering round) in order not to have your substrate become too wet.
What we have also noticed is that the bottom of the reservoir is visible on many nurseries - this means mixing in mains water or well water. This in itself is not a technical problem, but there is an increased risk of a higher sodium value so, if possible, try to quickly mix in some rainwater again when values reach >8 mmol/litre. Remember also not to add any zinc to the mixing tank if you are relying on mains water only; there are always a few growers every year who forget about this ... It pays to give a little more attention to the feed solution in these times of mixing different types of water.

Weather changes

Changes from more than 30°C to less than 25°C with rain and thunderstorms may well be a regular occurrence in the coming period. Be prepared for this by realising high enough temperatures on the first few cooler days. You will certainly need high min. pipes of 50°C in the early hours between 4.00 am and 8.00 am. Also start watering later and stop in good time. The latter is even more important when the afternoon brings hefty showers. Have the EC in the irrigation system sufficiently high on the first cool day and on unsettled days. You should preferably start with an EC of 3.0 in the morning, and about 3.5 if the weather is extremely conducive to giving rise to splitting. In order to achieve this, always set the EC in such a way that this EC value is reached in the entire system 3 - 4 watering rounds before stopping. The system often contains the water for the first 3 - 4 watering rounds of the following day. During stable, warm weather an EC of 2.4 - 2.6 around midday remains useful.

Bumble bees

We have regularly been on nurseries lately where the bees have not been able to keep up. Whether this was because of the extreme temperatures or the sizeable flowering, who knows; it is probably a bit of both. Keep a very watchful eye on pollination; a few extra boxes of bumble bees never cost as much as failed fruit set.

Removing leaves

"Taking leaves out of the head? Are you mad? With temperatures of 30°C?" A grower will either think or say it, when you mention it. We should, nevertheless, be looking ahead because it is already the third week in July and especially Arvento crops on a rootstock (and that is most of them) can very quickly become more vegetative again, given steadier weather. This means, besides steering for fruitfulness, also starting in good time with taking a leaf out of the head again. We have noticed in recent years that on nurseries where this is started at the right time (i.e. in the next few weeks) trusses are stronger and fruit quality is better in autumn. So it's not really so silly at all to look ahead ...