RE SEARCH Potato innovation continues to be necessary to feed a growing world population. Crop Potato Wheat Rice Maize Yield t/ha 50-90 8-10 8-10 10-15 DM % 21 85 85 85 DM yield t/ha 10.5-19 7-8.5 7-8.5 8.5-13 ‘If the dry matter per hectare is important, the potato is again top of the four.’ (Martin van Ittersum) and 56 percent, and in the Netherlands for an average of various different crops, it’s between 10 and 20 percent. If you only have a yield gap of 10 percent, there’s hardly any room for improving your yield, but if the yield gap is bigger, there’s still much to gain. This is why world food organisations are arguing in favour of improvements and expansion of cultivation in countries where the yield gaps are big, where there are food shortages and where there’s an exponential population growth. The first steps towards improvement are often very slow.’ Still many gaps in potato yields ‘For you, naturally, the question is, what role can the potato play in this’, Van Ittersum says to his Audience, and he starts by giving a summary of a few pros and cons. ‘The potato contains a relatively large amount of water and little dry matter compared to maize, rice and wheat grains. This means that you have to transport a great many kilos around. If the dry matter per hectare is important, the potato is again top of the four. Also positive is the relatively low water requirement of the potato compared to cereals as far as a comparable production of dry matter is concerned. Also a bit trickier with the potato is achieving genetic advance. The graph for consumption varieties in tons per hectare has only gone up slightly since the nineties; the graph for starch potatoes is much steeper. What’s particularly spectacular is the yield gap of the potato. For starch potatoes we know that the difference between very successful yields in trial fields and the yield averages in some cultivation areas can run up to 40 tons per hectare.’ Van Ittersum also shows what the yield gaps can be worldwide. For example, in Chile this is 60 percent, in Ethiopia 80 to 85 percent, in China 10 to 64 percent and, remarkably, only 21 to 34 percent in India, though the Professor doubts these figures from India somewhat. In the Netherlands, the gap is between 20 to 40 percent and compared to India the growing conditions are still very dissimilar. A sustainable potato is not that easy The figures so far from conventional potato growing. ‘If you look at organic production, the potato isn‘t doing too well’, the Professor continues. ‘If you take the average yields of all the crops, the yield gap for organic production is 20 percent lower than for conventional growing. If we specifically look at the potato, organic production scores even 26 percent lower. All in all, I come to the conclusion that the potato is a real contender in the future demand for more food in the world. The climate and also climate change play an important role in that’, is the Professor’s opinion. ‘The potato will benefit from the CO2 increase, but is more susceptible to extreme weather conditions. It will be more difficult for potatoes than for cereals, for example, also if you think in terms of sustainability, because you need to invest more in the domains of fertilisation and crop protection. ● Leo Hanse and Jaap Delleman ‘I have the privilege of speaking to a room full of top entrepreneurs and researchers from the potato sector, and I see excellent opportunities for you as front runners’, Ruud Huirne predicts for the WPC partners. Potato World 2016 • number 3 19 Pagina 18
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