CULTIVATION AND TECHNOLOGY Crisis or not, without breeding there are no solutions Dirk Stellingwerf, Schaap Holland: ‘Dual-purpose varieties always have a added value’ Dirk Stellingwerf, as International Accounts Manager at Schaap Holland in the village of Biddinghuizen, is responsible for the introduction and marketing of potato varieties. The variety he immediately thinks of as an answer to a possible recession is the Aromata. The most important problem factor in this case is infection with nematodes. Aromata is still a reasonably new variety with strong ABCDE resistance. This enables its cultivation in infected soils but also, of course, everywhere where you want to avoid nematode problems. In this case, this means an early-maturing variety that can be used in Schaap Holland’s own peeling business and is also usable to package as fresh potatoes during the period of July and August. ‘The intention is that the Aromata will replace two varieties at the same time’, says Stellingwerf. One is the well-known Première that’s processed as base material in the peeling business during the early summer; the second one is the Gloria that’s still one of the most important, fresh, early potatoes that are sold in bags. If you need to hear about a variety that gives growers a little more leeway in times of financial crisis, the Alexia comes into the picture, in Stellingwerf’s opinion, because this is a variety that can be used for different markets. ‘Dual-purpose varieties with good characteristics always have added value. The Alexia is a very tasty, high-yielding table and home-made chips potato. You can package the variety in a bag for the fresh market with a perfect company presentation, but it can also be used for chipping. It’s a variety that’s excellent for home-made chips. These are characteristics that appeal to both growers and buyers at the moment. There is a great deal of interest in this variety. We use the crops of seed developed in the Netherlands and its market is expanding worldwide. Jarke Kruize, Semagri: “Anaïs combines early maturity with taste and yield” Salesman Jarke Kruize of Semagri in Lelystad knows how to deal with the word crisis. He immediately shows us the Anaïs variety. This is now a well-known variety of the trading company, one that is in great demand, also in times of bad prices. As far as the Anaïs is concerned, there’s no such word as recession. Year after year, the seed of this variety is totally sold out and Semagri has to disappoint its customers, says Kruize. He would have liked to see the acreage growth develop faster but, unfortunately, the seed cultivation of the variety has experienced a few setbacks here and there, and that’s something in itself that you could call a crisis. ‘For several consecutive years, the plots with Anaïs were situated in regions with either excessive rain or drought, as a result of which large areas were lost every time. The production of mini tubers didn’t go well either and the build up of strains was delayed. Meanwhile, the seed potato plots with Anaïs are more spread throughout the Netherlands and the risk of failure is considerably reduced. The fact that the competition hasn’t outstripped the variety is thanks to the special early maturity of the Anaïs, combined with its good taste and high yield. The demand for the variety mainly comes from the first-early-cultivation areas in Germany. They plant the seed in ridges under plastic early in the year, so that they can start harvesting in midJune.’ As the production of mini tubers is doing well now, Kruize expects the harvest next year to double to 35 hectares of seed. 18 Potato World 2015 • number 2 Pagina 17
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