PW-ACTUA takes growers to the trial field with new and existing varieties that grow on sandy soil. The largest starch potato variety of Royal ZAP/Semagri is currently the Saprodi. Last year, 2,000 hectares were cultivated for Avebe alone. According to Kruize, for the cultivation of this variety it’s important that the structure of the soil is good. In order to ensure the variety grows properly, you should give the crop 60 kg of pure nitrogen before the rows are closed. By applying fertiliser again after the rows have closed, you can keep the variety growing a little longer. When harvesting, it’s also important to ensure that the potatoes are dried quickly in the storehouse. The yield of the Saprodi can reach up to 50 tons per hectare and the starch yield amounts to a maximum of 15 tons per hectare. He explains that with the new German legislation, growers will soon have to reduce their nitrogen. Because the basic application of manure for starch potato cultivation is slurry, you need to time your application well to allow the crop to grow optimally. ‘Varieties that grow well with less nitrogen are therefore becoming increasingly important for the starch potato area’, says Kruize. ‘Each variety has its own user instructions. So it’s important that we, as a trading company, share all available information with the growers. That’s why we set up demonstration fields at various locations in the area to enable the new and existing varieties to grow under different growing conditions’, explains the variety specialist. In order to grow a variety in the starch potato region, it must comply with wart disease regulations. Varieties must have been accepted for the area, otherwise they may not be cultivated here. ‘We’re looking for varieties with resistance to wart disease 1, 2, 6 and 18, Rostochiensis 1 to 5 and Pallida 2 to 3. That sounds very easy, but it’s certainly not an easy search’, Kruize knows from experience. In order to market the seed potatoes of starch varieties, the company has noticed that seed potato growers in the IJsselmeer polders want to grow highly-resistant varieties regularly in order to keep the soil clean. ‘It’s currently quite easy for us to sell seed from our starch potato varieties’, Kruize points out. Looking at the sales, Semagri has a wide area where the company sells its seed potatoes. ‘It ranges from France, Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Sweden and Finland to the Baltic States. In Poland, too, a large market is still open. We’re working hard to develop it. We’re also running our first production in China. We’ve already harvested our Simphony and Saprodi varieties’, says the salesman. Kruize points out that new starch factories are emerging worldwide. For example, there are construction plans in Croatia, Kosovo and Spain and a factory has recently been built in Ukraine. A whole world lies open for varieties such as Stratos, Simphony, Sarion, Dartiest and Supporter, the seed of which has already sold out for next year. ● Plant breeding techniques in a new era Scientists from Wageningen University & Research (WUR) have published a booklet about Plant Breeding Techniques under the English title ‘Plant breeding techniques in a new era’. In their concise publication, they discuss various aspects of plant breeding techniques that can also be used in potato cultivation, for example, in genome processing. In recent years, a number of new plant breeding techniques have been developed that make it possible to adapt the genetic material of crops more efficiently and accurately. These include genome processing techniques, which have made enormous progress since the introduction of CRISPR Cas9 in 2012. As soon as the political green light is given, these techniques can be used by plant breeders as a tool for improving important crop characteristics that have always been difficult to improve with traditional plant breeding. Faster variety development is necessary Scientists conclude that there are serious sustainability problems in agriculture worldwide. ‘These problems require an integrated approach that makes it important to involve the production chain. This chain is based on plant breeders and plant breeding companies. Breeders need to develop new varieties more quickly in order to keep pace with changes in climate, soil quality and pest and disease pressure, rising food demand and changing consumer preferences. Plant breeders would like to apply new techniques. Society wants to know more about the techniques’, the WUR explains in a press release. That’s why scientists from Wageningen University & Research have published a booklet with a concise overview of recent developments in breeding techniques. This booklet describes examples of techniques and desired crop characteristics that can be improved with genome processing. The scientists also discuss the social, legal and economic aspects of the new breeding techniques. The booklet is available in digital form free of charge via the link http://edepot. wur.nl/ 357723. ● Potato World 2018 • number 3 11 Pagina 10
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