Potato Review

30 POTATO REVIEW SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2021 NEW VARIETIES With those commercial scale trials starting this year, Peter is hoping to get a better idea of the agronomic nuances of the variety. “It’s still too early to make any commercial decisions. The big thing for me is that processors are asking for it and there’s demand.” Constructive feedback sought from fryers Christopher Lee’s family has been growing potatoes for over 60 years and is one of the UK’s largest producers for the fish and chip shop market. Renowned for selling premium quality potatoes in large quantities throughout the year, P J Lee & Sons Limited have an enviable reputation. The family farms across a 35mile radius and takes a high input, high output approach and is always on the lookout for new varieties that meet his stringent criteria. As well as demanding the best possible frying qualities, Christopher matches varieties to soil type and pest pressure. “Today we’re growing around 1,600 acres of Markies, as well as 250 acres of Agria and a small fraction of Performer,” explains Christopher. “Agria is grown on our strongest land, where it’s not possible to irrigate, and Performer is grown for its Pallida resistance on some my grandfather’s favourite acres.” Christopher’s approach to new variety trials includes a quick scale- up and rigorous market testing. “We start with a couple of hessian 25kg sacks,” explains Christopher. “We’ll grow it on for a year or two, put a couple of trays in with the other potatoes to see how they store, then test their fryability in March, April and May. If they fry well, we’ll have a tonne or two, and build up the acreage from there. “We’ve always had a field of trials, usually 10- 15 acres,” he continues. “We do large field trials because we need to try and get as close to farm practice as soon as possible. There are pros and cons. If we have any issues and we’ve done a decent size trial, we get some really good data “We need to know how well they fry across our portfolio of end-users which all treat our potatoes slightly differently.” Christopher Lee, ware grower