CULTIVATION AND TECHNOLOGY Big theme of PotatoEurope 2015 is ‘the year of soil’ On 2 and 3 September 2015, there will again be an innovating edition of PotatoEurope. This year, Belgium will again be the host. The show ground for the event will again be the farm of Octave Witdouck in Wallonia, near the village of Kain. The loamy soils, which the business manages, are highly suitable for the cultivation of potatoes. For businesses from the sector, this is a wonderful area to present machinery and products to potential customers. And also to focus attention on ‘the year of soil’. For businesses from the sector, PotatoEurope 2015 in Kain is a wonderful area to present machinery and products to potential customers. T hose who have been to PotatoEurope in Belgium before know that this welltended, undulating area produces lovely potatoes. Both in 2007 and in 2011, many kilos of wonderful industrial potatoes were harvested from the various demonstration fields on the 32-hectare show ground. The terrain produces no less than 25 hectares of potatoes for demonstrations and tastings. Responsible for the land is crop farmer and contractor Octave Witdouck who uses an ample crop rotation scheme on the healthy soils around his business, he told Potato magazine already 8 years ago. The result is that the soil structure stays intact and that will, no doubt, appeal to his fellowfarmers in the international ‘year of soil’. The attention will also be focused on soil matters in the field demonstrations and the various stands. For example, in the demonstration fields, attention will be directed to the nematode problems, which seems to hold the whole country more and more in its grasp. Solutions include choice of variety and ample crop rotation. Growers in Flanders and Wallonia are already changing over to nematode-resistant varieties, and this will only increase in the coming years. Spotlight on nematode resistance The variety trial fields that are laid out in the area are the responsibility of CARAH, an agricultural research station in Wallonia. The differences between nematode-resistant or non-resistant varieties will come to light here. Furthermore, there will be trial fields from crop protection chemical and fertiliser suppliers. Businesses participating in this are Agro Bio, Agro Network, Potato World 2015 • number 2 43 Pagina 42
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