April 25, 2024 | Articles

Calcium deficiency has a major impact on yield

Sufficient calcium in the soil does not guarantee sufficient calcium in the plant. Especially during prolonged droughts, a deficiency may occur resulting in symptoms such as internal rust. Even if there is no loss of quality, a calcium deficiency may result in lower yields. According to Ton Hendrickx of Crop Plant Solutions and Scott Garnett…

April 03, 2024 | Articles

18 promising French fries varieties for the entire world

It is quite logical that, when asked ‘What is the most promising French fries variety for the future?’, all Dutch breeders came up with the most fantastic varieties, at least that is what we saw at the annual variety presentation. The most important characteristics for the French fries varieties are: kilograms per hectare, big tubers…

April 03, 2024 | Articles

Fruit Logistica: World Network

Fruit Logistica is an ideal trade show for networking and is relevant for anyone trading in potatoes, vegetables and fruit on an international level. Many thousands of trade visitors were present again in Berlin this year. Representatives of trading companies, packagers, suppliers in the fruit and vegetable sector, buyers for super­markets, hypermarkets, auctions, the wholesale…

April 03, 2024 | Articles

English grower goes Dutch

In North Yorkshire (England), Stuart Tweddle grows 36 hectares of crisp potatoes of the Saturna variety. Last year, he invested in a new storehouse, switching over from the English system that uses little air to the Dutch system that uses 100 cubic metres of air per cubic metre of potatoes. He also invested heavily in…

April 03, 2024 | Articles

Secret of the cultivation of Scottish seed potatoes revealed

Steadily humming, a Massey Fergusson 6480 with in its tracks a two-row Standen-Pierson is climbing along the slope of the Firth of Tay. Seed potatoes of the Valor variety are growing on this very hilly terrain. The Valor comes from the Scottish trading company Caithness Potatoes. The Dutch group of hobby breeders from the Midden…

April 03, 2024 | Articles

Inspiration

One morning with Hans Steenbergen of Food Inspiration and your head is completely full of all the latest developments and trends in the world of food. Because he analyses and experiences all the trends himself, you get the feeling that you, too, are eating reindeer moss in that world-famous restaurant, Noma. Unfortunately, he didn’t know…

April 03, 2024 | Articles

Food trend watcher inspires Europatat

At the end of May, the annual meeting of the European potato trade, Europatat, took place in the Kurhaus Hotel in the Dutch coastal village of Scheveningen. The organisation had invited the food trend watcher Hans Steenbergen as their guest speaker who, being the inspiring speaker that he is, knows exactly how to market a…

April 03, 2024 | Articles

Taste needs commitment

Products should be kept exclusive. This is one of the important lessons learnt at the recently held BioImpuls Symposium. The Dutch organic potato market is still small. Vegetables and fruit are doing much better. To some extent, this is due to effective marketing. Taste is a selling point, but it needs commitment, this is what…

April 03, 2024 | Articles

Finding your way

Anyone who regularly frequents Fruit Logistica in Berlin must have noticed that the potato segment is expanding. This year, as much as 20 percent of the exhibitors were in some way connected with this important product.

April 03, 2024 | Articles

‘It is high time to start thinking differently’

‘At HZPC, we’ve long been pondering the question of how we, as the potato branch, can change the long-term traditional image potatoes have had into a more progressive one. In Western countries, the consumer usually stands before the supermarket shelf and chooses the potatoes he wants to eat in three seconds flat. He buys just…