TRADE AND MARKETING Is climate change a topic for potato breeders? ‘Thinking ahead’ ‘How do we think ahead as far as climate is concerned? That’s a rather private question’, replies Den Hartigh breeder Jacob Eising with a smile. He thinks for a moment to avoid disclosing any secrets before answering the question: ‘In breeding, you don’t really need to think about the climate. But responding to climate is an automatic process. I’ll give you an example. Five years ago, there were no Yntn virus problems yet in areas such as Paris. It was restricted then to countries such as Romania. Today, the disease has already reached our own area. We are caught out by such developments. The breeding work is too slow and it’s not very easy to anticipate them. Anyway, we shouldn’t get all steamed up about it. The potato is a plant with little added value. It’s a low budget plant. Don’t misunderstand me; it’s also a crop which healthily feeds the entire world population.’ After this explanation, Eising switches the climate story in a different direction. “We especially want to breed varieties that the Dutch grower calls a good farmer’s variety. These are varieties with a maturation mark of at least 6, a Phytophthora mark of at least 6 and a dry matter content of 20 percent. Furthermore, the variety must grow well in all climate conditions and not depend on the length of day. We also want the “farmer’s variety’ to be resistant to Pallida, which increases the success of a good crop. Another essential aspect is that, where the potato is grown the best, you’ll automatically find the market, thinks Eising. “I believe that the much heard complaint of customers in the market that there are too many varieties is partly correct. I mean those varieties that don’t do too well after their introduction. It is, actually, antisocial to introduce varieties that have not been property trialled. We try to respect our customers and don’t want to damage their confidence in us by introducing new varieties too quickly. An example of a variety that we only introduced after many years of trialling is our Forza variety. This is a cross from 1999, which develops a high underwater weight very early on. We want to offer growers and the processing industry a reliable replacement for Première.’ ‘Water in North Africa is becoming more saline’ “Climate change is not new for us,’ says the Irish IPM breeder Dennis Griffin. “We’ve always been looking for varieties with high stress resistance that can grow well in dry and hot climates. That’s because we’ve been focusing on the North African market for a long time now. In these countries, you often find stress in a potato crop. Also, what we see in northwest Europe is that resistance against disease is becoming increasingly important. I’m thinking of nematodes such Meloïdogyne, bacterial infections and last but not least Phytophthora. A variety, of which we expect a lot is the Banba, concludes Erik Appeldoorn of IPM Nederland. “It’s resistant to hot temperatures, lack of water and it has a good salt water tolerance. We’re finding that the water in North Africa is becoming more saline.’ Potato World 2010 • number 3 19 Pagina 18
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