The content of this blog is the foreword from the Editorial Director, published in PotatoWorld magazine 2021/02.
In Europe, due to public health risks, it is no longer possible to use the old trusted sprout inhibitor chlorpropham. At the moment, alternative means are available that the sector can work with. During the current storage season, we visited growers in the Netherlands who have gained experience with the sprout inhibitors permitted there. They are unanimous in saying that their application requires much more knowledge than that of chlorpropham.
According to potato grower Gerben van Buuren, good storage in the year 2021 starts by making sure that you are always ready to act when conditions are optimal. That means, among other things, keeping control of your own business and making maximum use of modern techniques. During both cultivation and storage. The development of new varieties will also become more important in order to be able to store optimally. This means that the entire chain will have to look closely at which varieties are best suited to a specific market, cultivation purpose and region.
As a potato professional, to acquire the right knowledge about these modern tools, techniques and varieties, a visit to the PotatoEurope event should not be missed this year. At the show ground, the experimental farm of Wageningen University & Research in Lelystad, the growing season has already started with a world first. An ultra-modern robot has planted part of the potato harvesting demonstrations fields there by pulling a conventional planting machine. After 18 months without physical trade fairs, the PotatoEurope event is the first where the international potato sector will soon be able to gather live knowledge again. Given the large number of registrations, many companies are confident that vaccination will progress fast enough to make this happen.
Jaap Delleman (Editorial Director of PotatoWorld magazine)
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