Potato Review

18 POTATO REVIEW NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 VARIETY OPEN DAYS T WO variety open days at Mill Farm, Caythorpe near Grantham, Lincolnshire, on September 11th and 12th provided an opportunity to view tubers and foliage just prior to desiccation and enabled some detailed agronomic and technical discussions to take place. Tim and Jo Ward of GR Ward & Sons hosted the open days and breeding station trials which attracted a good attendance, in line with previous seasons, despite the obvious di culties associated with COVID-19. Multiple breeding houses collaborated to exhibit, so visitors were able to gain signi cant and geographically relevant information over the two days. Amongst those displaying their varieties were Stet Potato Ltd, IPM Potato Group, along with Germicopa Potato Varieties and Danespo, which now fall under the umbrella of parent company Florimond Desprez. Table, French fry and crisping varieties were all displayed, and representatives were on hand to talk about each variety, their qualities, and what’s made them perform well over the past year. With COVID-19 putting the brakes on so many agricultural and trade events this year, Varieties on display Breeding houses collaborate to exhibit and unveil their newest o erings. those attending said it was good to be able to network and obtain information ‘straight from the horse’s mouth’. Four new additions IPM had a wide range of varieties on display, including new additions Vanilla, Sensation, Bu alo and Commando. Vanilla, released in 2018, is an early maincrop pre-pack variety aimed at the premium end of supermarket retail owing to its excellent shape, skin nish and, most importantly, its culinary quality where it performs extremely well in terms of taste and texture. Sensation was commercially released in 2018. IPM’s UK Sales Manager Graeme Prentice said: “Its early maturity and high yields of bold tubers with great skin finish and shape uniformity, coupled with strong resistance to common scab and PVY, continue to ensure this variety is in strong demand.” Bu alo and Commando are two additions to the company’s packing portfolio. Classic very high yielding and robust varieties with good dry matters., Both o er strong export opportunities which will provide more options for seed growers. Graeme, who has sat on the e British Potato Trade Association (BPTA) Council since 2010 was amongst those attending, along with Technical Manager Andrew Birks. “Equally, exciting was the introduction of seven of our most recent pallida resistant seedlings covering the pre-pack, fresh-chipping, crisping and French-fry sectors – something for everyone,” said Graeme. “Buster, aimed at the pre-pack sector, is slightly more advanced and will be available in small quantities in 2021. Its unique “stacked” dual pcn resistance make Stet