October 16, 2019 | Articles

There is still plenty of room for new French-fry varieties

At the beginning of November, the European potato breeding companies and seed potato trading companies operating in the Netherlands presented their latest promising numbers and varieties again for their mostly global customer base. The largest percentage of these is destined for the French-fry market and all participants at the variety presentation days expect to have…

October 16, 2019 | Articles

Ten years of Smart Grader practical experience: ‘grading much more seed’

In the summer of 2018, Dewulf of Roeselare (Belgium) sold the Miedema Smart Grader activities to GeJo Grading Services BV from the village of Luttelgeest. The service, spare parts supply and production remained guaranteed thanks to Gerard Blok and Jos Broeders, two entrepreneurs who have been involved in the development and sales of the Smart…

June 12, 2019 | Articles

A lot of news on PotatoEurope 2019

On 4 and 5 September of this year, PotatoEurope will be setting up its exhibition tents again in the Belgian village of Kain, in the middle of the Walloon potato growing area and in the shadow of the various French-fry processors in the region. After the particularly dry growing season of 2018, it’s interesting to…

February 27, 2019 | Articles

The abolition of diquat requires a different way of cultivation and working towards the haulm killing moment

Is it still possible to kill haulm in potatoes properly now the decision not to extend the application of diquat (Reglone) has been taken in Brussels? Yes, it is possible, but all currently available alternatives call for a completely different way of cultivation and working towards the moment of haulm killing, are the first reactions…

February 27, 2019 | Articles

Waldersey Farms is steadily increasing its potato acreage, also after Brexit

With a cultivation area of 5,500 hectares, Waldersey Farms Ltd from the rural area of The Fens in Norfolk is one of the largest arable farms in the United Kingdom. Potato cultivation is an important source of income, even if the area under cultivation is ‘only’ 336 hectares. Certainly after a Brexit, because from then…

February 27, 2019 | Articles

Control of hormone regulation in potato plants with right knowledge and resources

Stress can seriously reduce the potato yield. Drought – as in the last growing season – may play a role, but there are several factors that can be identified as causes. A stress reaction in the plant can be explained by the changing hormone regulation. This can be adjusted with the right knowledge and resources. Stoller,…

February 27, 2019 | Articles

Christoph Grimme: ‘50 percent of the world’s potato cropping areas are not yet mechanised, so that’s where our growth opportunity lies’

With Christoph Grimme (30), a new and predominantly digital wind is clearly blowing through the more than 150-year-old family group from the rural village of Damme (G). ‘The time of big, bigger, biggest is over, above all, it now has to be smarter’, he says in no uncertain terms. But robotisation of the potato harvest?…

November 21, 2018 | Articles

Young Farmers programme turns out to be a golden opportunity: ‘it underlines that we’re seen as important

It was a golden opportunity to give young farmers in the potato sector their own programme on the Potato Demonstration Day. ‘It underlines that we’re seen as important’, was one of the many positive reactions. No fewer than a hundred young current and future entrepreneurs aged between 18 and 30, attended the ‘beer-snack-taking over the…

September 19, 2018 | Articles

Italy: ideal testing ground for Dutch potato breeding

A top delegation of Dutch breeders was recently able to see for themselves that the areas around Bari and Naples in Italy are the perfect test base for potato breeding activities in. Thanks to varying soil and climate conditions, it soon becomes clear in this elongated country which numbers have excellent opportunities for cultivation around…

June 05, 2018 | Articles

Requested: new HDS varieties due to a sharp rise in flakes andgranule production

‘We want new varieties as soon as possible for the cultivation of special High Dry Matter (HDM) potatoes, because the production of high-quality flakes and granules needs to increase significantly within two years.’ That’s the important message that Aviko Rixona in Venray recently presented to all leading breeders in the Netherlands during a Breeders Day…