CULTIVATION AND TECHNOLOGY Storage heart of the enterprise Marien and Joos Poppe in Nagele invested over 1.5 million euros in a state-of-the-art box storage with fan ventilation and mechanical cooling for seed potatoes, carrots and onions. ‘The storage is the heart of our enterprise’, Marien Poppe tells us. ‘Everything to do with seed aims at quality. As organic seed potato growers, we can’t afFord mistakes. A t a height of 8 metres above the concrete flooring, Marien Poppe and Tolsma’s storage specialist Huub Maerman are inspecting the quality of the organic seed potatoes of the 2012 harvest ‘We were badly hit, this year’, sighed Poppe pointing to the early infection of the potato’s worst enemy Phytophthora infestans. An early infection meant that he had to burn the haulm of his Agria, Ditta and Toluca seed potato varieties early. ‘That’s why we only harvested 25 boxes per hectare this year. We had 40 last year’, Poppe explains. As a consequence, part of the space in the new storage hall is completely full. ‘That’s a difference of more than 300 boxes on a total acreage of 28 hectares of seed’, Poppe says. Stacking high and in a long row Until last year, Poppe rented storage space for his produce at four different locations. ‘Thanks to the investment, we’re able to store our organic seed potatoes at our own farm until late in the spring’, Poppe explains the advantage of the centralisation. The potatoes are put in boxes straight after harvesting. Once in the box, a Phytophthora tuber is no longer the biggest prob‘Thanks to the investment, we are able to store our organic seed potatoes at our own farm until late in the spring’, Marien Poppe explains. Potato World 2013 • number 1 21 Pagina 20
Pagina 22Heeft u een mailing, emagcreator of digi-kranten? Gebruik Online Touch: reisgids digitaal bladerbaar publiceren.
Potatoworld 2013/1 Lees publicatie 27Home