TRADE AND MARKETING IVETTA, … The most promising varieties that meet the most important market trends COLOMBA Jörg Renatus, Europlant Aardappel bv, Heerenveen / Lüneburg (D): ‘Exclusive table market requires new resistances’ ‘I think that the trend for North-West Europe is that, for the exclusive table market, we need new resistances to nematodes such as Pallida, Chitwoodi and Meloïdogyne, combined with yield. With the Ivetta, we have a strong weapon in our hands that meets this new demand. If the trend is about convenience, we mainly see a demand for a higher number of tubers and better storage qualities. Our answer to that is our three trump varieties, Regina, Venetia and Alexandra. These are varieties that suit the fresh potato segment and are easy to package. We’re also working on traditional export varieties for countries in Eastern Europe. What they need now are robust varieties with - and that’s still quite recent - a high drought resistance. A strong newcomer, Concordia, fits that bill. And I’ve not even mentioned the varieties for the crisps and chips industries. Like in the table potato market, we focus on nematode resistance and straightforward cultivation. With that I mean the demand from growers for robust French-fry varieties that give a high yield and can be grown under difficult circumstances. Our answer to that is the Jurata, I think I’ve summarised the most important trends now.’ ‘We note that the sector has a need for varieties that will give stable yields in the various climates in the world for many years. In the first place, this is about secure yields, where issues such as scab susceptibility and potato cyst nematode play a role, of course. That, taken together, is our most important focal point. When all these agronomic matters are in order, both seed and consumption growers can deal with a variety. Also, we’re continually zooming in on the specific wishes of the growers and the buyers. We, at HZPC, have a three-pronged approach: biotic characteristics, abiotic characteristics and quality. A new variety, which we really feel meets all these three requirements and will soon be a big name in Europe, is the Colomba. Our customers are extremely positive about that variety. We were able to plant 45 hectares of seed two years’ ago, 85 hectares this year, and we expect to plant 200 hectares next year. In the world of the potato, you can call that a progressive start of a variety. This is a variety that MISS MALINE ‘We’re looking for new varieties that add real value to varieties that are already present in the higher segment. We’re talking about varieties with a big size, length and stability. With the latter, I especially mean a regular drymatter division and a good frying quality. In addition, varieties with a broad resistance to potato cyst nematode are in demand. We come across Rostochiensis and Pallida, and it’s not so easy to find a variety that can resist both. An excellent, likely candidate I want to mention at Interseed is the Miss Malina. This is a yellow-fleshed variety that lies in the Agria market segment. It’s being tested this year in various French-fry factories in Germany and the Netherlands. The variety is a bit earlier, easier to store than the Agria, doesn’t contain too many sugars and is ABC nematode resistant. We’re still trialling the variety during cultivation. Points we’re focusing on are the optimisation of the planting distance, the amount of fertiliser and the storage temperature.’ ● Leo Hanse Jeroen Bakker, HZPC, Joure: ‘Need for stable varieties’ really fits the retail fresh sector. It’s rather early, produces a high yield and combines that with a beautiful skin and good cooking quality. Furthermore, it also has the necessary resistances I talked about earlier, such as potato cyst nematode. So we think that the Colomba is a variety that will not only do very well in countries like France, but will also be popular throughout Europe. Martin de Visser, Interseed Holland bv, Dronten / Wittmund (D): ‘It is all about size, length and stability’ Potato World 2014 • number 2 23 Pagina 22

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