Potato Review

www.potatoreview.com POTATO REVIEW JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2023 23 VARIETIES A GRICO presented nine new varieties when it held its annual variety and seedling show at Agrico Research in Bant, north of Emmeloord in the Netherlands recently. Growers, strain selectors, buyers, processors and other interested parties from all over the world attended the variety and seedling show at the new greenhouses of Agrico Research. e new varieties are as follows: 1. Agostino (SW 10-1170), bred by Lantmännen Seed. Agostino is an early maincrop, red skin ware variety. is variety has good late blight resistance. 2. Armedi (AR 10-2432), bred by Agrico Research. is variety is suitable for the processing industry and has high resistances. 3. Aztec Gold (ARD 10-5206), a specialty bred by Agrico Research. Aztec Gold has a striking deep yellow esh colour, a signi cantly shorter cooking time and excellent consumption quality. 4. Fyone (PL 11-0111), bred by the a liated Danish breeding company AKV Langholt. Fyone is a maincrop starch variety with good late blight resistance. Fyone will mainly be used through licensed cultivation in Scandinavia and Eastern Europe. 5. Napoleon (AR 10-4637), bred by Agrico Research. Napoleon is suitable for the processing of crisps. It is a maincrop variety with a high net yield. Napoleon has excellent storability. 6. Nirvana (AR 10-2460), bred by Agrico Research. Nirvana is a French fries variety and, with its late blight resistance, is one of the Next Generation varieties. e variety is suitable for both organic and conventional cultivation methods. 7. Salvera (SA 10-0054), bred by Jan Lucas Spijkman. is breeder has been a liated with Agrico for many years. Salvera is a maincrop ware variety, with nice uniform tubers and size regularity, including in variable growing conditions. 8. Stacey (SW 11-2363), bred by Lantmännen Seed. Stacey is characterised by its small tuber size with a beautiful red skin. 9. SW 10-8218, an as yet unnamed variety, has been bred by Lantmännen Seed. is is a rm cooking retail variety with yellow esh and will nd its markets through the retail sector in Northwestern Europe. Each year, Agrico selects a number of varieties that warrant extra attention, and this year Palace and Levante were the ones spotlighted. Palace is a late-ripening, high yielding processing variety. e variety grows easily under di erent climate conditions and in di erent soil types, and therefore performs well under warm and dry conditions, such as in Central and Southern Europe and North Africa. Palace has a great skin, that o ers more possibilities in the market than just processing. Levante is a promising variety for the retail trade andmore traditional markets. Levante is a rather rm-cooking variety, has a beautiful, clear skin and is suitable for boiling, mashing and baking. Levante thereforemeets the requirements of themodern consumer. is variety is suitable for both conventional and organic growing. e variety is amember of the Next Generation range. General Manager Jan van Hoogen Agrico says the company is focused on changing the strategy for table potatoes. “In ware potatoes we are already moving full steam ahead. ere we have shifted from the strategy of continuing to grow in acreage in a shrinking market to focus on growing potatoes for the highest market segment. Agrico sees the requirement for rapid change as a must. is keeps Agrico competing in the extremely dynamic potato market, and if you do that, the opportunities keep coming.” Subsidiary Parkland Potato Varieties from Canada is celebrating its 25th anniversary so this year Canada was chosen as the theme of the variety and seedling show. Parkland Potato Varieties markets its own potato varieties and also introduces new Agrico varieties in Canada, the United States and Mexico. ➜ Nine newcomers unveiled at annual show as General Manager speaks of changing focus for table potatoes. Shifting strategies