TRADE AND MARKETING Sustainability in 2016 is all about balance Jan-Eric Geersing, Caithness Potatoes: ‘The concept of “don’t apply nitrogen” is difficult to understand’ ‘Good question, but I can answer it. I think straight away of our organic programme and I’d like to start with a bit of historical background’ Jan-Eric Geersing of the Scottish breeding company Caithness Potatoes from Perth reacts enthusiastically. ‘We always had the Valor variety at the top. It was even the largest organic potato variety in the world for a short while. For a long time, the major part of the seed went to Egypt and from there the organicallygrown consumption potatoes came back again to Great Britain. Meanwhile, that successful period is over, but we still have a significant organic breeding programme. I breed varieties myself as well at the organic farm of the Poppe family in the Dutch village of Nagele. The beauty is that you experience the unpredictable issues of potato growing without chemicals close by. For example, this year, Poppe’s seed potato yield was the highest ever while, last year, it was the lowest they had ever had. This all points to Phytophthora. Last year, Nagele was right in the middle of the epi centre, nowhere else was the pressure as high as it was here. That was fantastic for our testing, naturally, because we could see which crossings survived. One of those already has a name and is called Cammeo. It was right beside the Carolus, the Phytophthoraresistant Agrico variety. Both the Cammeo and the Carolus continued to grow happily in spite of the high disease pressure. Well, Phytophthora is the theme if we’re talking about sustainability, but that’s not the only thing, of course. It also needs a good yield and marketing opportunities. The Cammeo produces beautiful, big tubers and is a highly suitable consumption potato variety for export. I can see the way we ourselves are currently working with sustainable varieties becoming common practice for all other breeding companies in our line of business. For one thing, there’s an inclination towards sustainable production. I think that, within fifteen years, all varieties will have some Phytophthora resistance. These sustainable varieties will also be suitable for conventional crop growing and, mark my words, we’ll also have to spray them! Although much less than now, every fortnight, for example, but it will always have to be a combination of a sustainable variety and plant protection. This is necessary to maintain resistance as long as possible. It would be a real pity if we should lose resistance that was developed some 20 years ago at a stroke due to half measures. Another example of a sustainable variety is the Argos. It needs zero nitrogen. No one understands the concept of zero nitrogen, but it’s true. Don’t try using it, you’ll get 70 to 80 tons per hectare without any nitrogen. Look, we could always say: apply 50 kilos of N, if necessary. But you know that most growers give that little extra anyway, because they’re used to giving more. If they do that, they’re in big trouble.’ Peter Ton, Stet Holland: ‘A short growing se fertiliser, water and chemicals’ ‘Wow, what a question. There are many answers to that’, replies Director Peter Ton of Stet Holland in Emmeloord immediately. After remaining silent for while, he mentions, one-by-one, all the possible aspects of sustainability. ‘Early maturity, for example, is a factor that can make cultivation more sustainable. A short growing season requires less fertiliser, water and chemicals. If I have to link that to a variety, my first thought is the Avanti. That variety already has an extremely high yield after only 75 growing days. You could also say that the varieties I breed yield higher per square metre under the same growing conditions. With fewer hectares, there are also environmental savings if only the fuel. We also develop such varieties for distant countries in which we actively sell seed. Examples are varieties such as Safari, Castelli and Melanto. And then, of course, there are the characteristics of tolerances and resistances that also create sustainability to an important extent in the shape of less need for crop protection chemicals. In this case, I’d point to our Triplo, a variety with a high Phytophthora tolerance. In addition, it matures early and is multifunctional in the market. It’s a good chipper and it’s also a fine table potato. In the organic 14 Potato World 2016 • number 1 Pagina 13
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