TRADE AND MARKETING CONNECT The most promising varieties that meet the most important market trends TORONTO Jacob Eising, Den Hartigh, Emmeloord: ‘Soil-bound diseases require sustainable solutions’ ‘The trend that I see is simple: it’s all about the many measures we’re trying to take against soilbound diseases. Many potato growers are therefore struggling today with implementing a sustainable cropping plan. This stems from a combination of stress in the plot and nematode problems. In line with the trend is the consumeroriented demand for products with a low input of chemicals and fertilisers. It’s then up to us to bring those two trends together in new varieties. We’ve succeeded in that, thanks to the BioImpuls project, for example. The big advantage of that is that we breed organically. Apart from the fact that we look at Phytophthora resistance, we also take soil-bound diseases such as Rhizoctonia and nematodes into consideration. In doing so, we honour the wishes of the growers for effective implementation of the cropping plan. As this organic cultivation is sustainable, we’re also complying with the wishes of the consumer. It’s not easy to pick out a variety already, but I’d like to point to Connect, of which we have high hopes. This variety is in great demand throughout the world because of its highly-sustainable characteristics. Interest has been shown from Scandinavia to Sri Lanka. The variety has a high nitrogen efficiency, good coverage and a very low input of crop protection chemicals. It has just entered the Varieties List. ‘Our focus is on a search for varieties with resistance to potato cyst nematode (AM). In doing so, we also take other market-oriented questions into consideration such as shape and colour. Above all, the trend is for replacement with an added value. It’s mainly about creating lots of extras. A variety that doesn’t really make a difference is gone before it has come. As TPC, we operate mostly in the French-fry market. We’re looking for replacement varieties that score a lot higher on potato cyst nematode. We’ve been very successful with the Toronto. It’s a variety with more length and it’s resistant to a wide range of nematodes. It even has a ABCDEFG resistance. For example, the variety scores much higher than most existing French-fry varieties, while the hectare yield is nearly the same as that of the toppers. We know, of course, that in addition to AM resistance, there’s also a demand for high-yielding varieties. Only it’s more difficult for us to make a difference on that score. In any case, it’s difficult to produce a variety that scores 5 percent higher than a high-scoring existing French-fry variety. And once you have such a variety, you’re entering a market with many more competitors. If you want to take a variety to a French-fry manufacturer with the ‘yield’ argument, you must buy your position, so to speak. You need to come with at least 100 tons of consumption potatoes, for example, before the factory will consider testing. We don’t want that and that’s why we’ve opted for varieties in which better solutions are found for the grower. The Toronto is really a classic example of that. Jos Bus, TPC, Emmeloord: ‘The crux lies in better solutions for the farmer’ Potato World 2014 • number 2 19 Pagina 18
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