TRADE AND MARKETING 18 promising French fries varieties for the entire world Efficient Royal in search of growers If you are so self-confident that you call your variety the Royal, it must be that this variety is hiding royal qualities. According to Peter van Eerdt of the Danish Danespo, this is absolutely the case. The three most important characteristics? Number 1 is the yield. It is a big, rectangular potato. Not so very smooth, but 85 percent of the tubers grow bigger than 60 mm. And what is the yield? In practice, on average 80 tons per hectare. The Royal also has a good average underwater weight of 390 grams. But the best characteristic of all is the way this potato grows, both in and above the ground. Its haulm has straight, sturdy stems making broad foliage that spreads over the ridge like an umbrella. This quickly and completely covers the soil, there is little evaporation from the soil and therefore an efficient use of water. The tubers don’t grow in a widely-spread nest, as is usual, but more like a bunch of tomatoes one on top of the other. This means they never grow outside the ridge and don’t develop green spots. ‘I call the Royal a wonderful morphological story. Because of its dry matter content, this variety can be used for all processing purposes: flakes, granules, French fries and even starch. Where does the Royal go? Here in Europe it only goes to McCain (France, Germany, the Netherlands and Great Britain) and it is exported to countries such as Sudan, Lebanon and Iraq. We’ll plant 250 hectares of seed potatoes next year’, according to Van Eerdt. The Eurostar yields over 70 tons and uses less water and fewer nutrients When you have a French fries variety that yields high, doesn’t use a lot of fertiliser and water, has a wide range of nematode resistances, scores strongly in respect of Phytophthora and stores well, you are fully entitled to call that variety the Eurostar. And that is exactly what KWS Potato in Emmeloord did. Technical director Peter Oldenkamp proudly shows us some big examples of this upand-coming French fries talent. ‘Rectangular and oval with length’, is how he describes the shape of the potatoes. ‘They produce many tons of chips per hectare. You could well start with 70 tons plus. It’s a potato that can grow everywhere’, he explains further. ‘This is because the KWS breeding programme focuses on stress-resistance, problematic climate conditions, drought and heat. This translates into high resistances against Phytophthora infestans, for example, (you only need to spray two to three times) and against nematodes A to F. In addition, compared to other varieties, this Eurostar doesn’t need much water or nitrogen: half the normal quantities’, according to Oldenkamp. ‘The beauty is that you don’t need more than 10 to 15 kilograms of foliar fertilisation per application, so not more than 120 kilograms in total. Again, an encouraging story as far as the CO2 footprint is concerned. Less fertiliser, less dragging about with fertiliser, less irrigation or rainwater, and thus good for the environment. When you also grow this potato near the processing factories, the positive points start adding up These factories could be European French fries producers, because its pale yellow flesh makes the Eurostar suitable for the foodservice and retail trade here.’ Potato World 2012 • number 2 17 Pagina 16
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