News on Research from Europe

Tim, currently Chief Operating Officer of the Food and Drink Federation (FDF), will take up his position at the Stoneleigh-based levy board on 31 August 2021, replacing Jane King. During the intervening period, the interim AHDB CEO will be Ken Boyns, AHDB Chief Finance, and Operations Officer.

The PotatoEurope organization has started preparing the potato trial fields at the event location near the central Dutch city of Lelystad.

Evidentemente, la patata es una excusa, aunque una poco inocente. Por muy insignificante que nos pueda parecer, la patata ocupa un lugar significativo en el mundo culinario y es, además, un alimento de gran importancia histórica.

The World Potato Congress is very pleased to present its next webinar on Wednesday, March 31, 2021 with Albert Schirring, Strategy Lead Vegetables & Potato, Bayer AG.

With the event theme 'What's Now, What's New and What's the Future', PotatoEurope 2021 promises to provide insight into current developments in the potato industry as well as a look at the future of the sector.

An international team of researchers has struck an important blow in the ongoing evolutionary arms race with the notorious potato disease late blight (Phytophthora infestans).

To ensure the research AHDB funds has the biggest impact and benefit for the potato industry, they work to connect growers with researchers and scientists with initiatives like their Strategic Spot Farms.

RUCIP European Committee -  the organisation that looks after the rules and practices of the Inter-European Trade in Potatoes - has a new internal organisation and new leadership.

Until December 31, 2020 the North-western European Potato Growers (NEPG) was a 5 country organization, but the organization started 2021 without the British AHDB. Also, Victor Pfaff stepped down as NEPG secretary and is replaced by Daniel Ryckmans.

Starch-based gluten-free bread (formulations containing a mixture of corn and potato starch with hydrocolloids) are deficient in nutrients and do not contain health promoting compounds.

This year HZPC expects to own the first prototype of a hybrid potato variety. These potatoes will be sown instead of planted, and that offers a perspective for the food security of areas that are hard to reach.

Sowing wildflowers into potato crops could reduce aphid-carried viruses and offer an alternative to declining access to insecticides for growers.

After much discussion and planning by the CUPGRA Executive Committee, it has been decided, owing to COVID-19 restrictions, to go ahead with a virtual conference to continue the unbroken run of 30 successful CUPGRA Cambridge Potato Conferences.

Scandi Standard, the leading producer of chicken products in the Nordic region, partners with Veg of Lund AB in a research project to develop a meat-substitute similar to chicken based on potato and rapeseed oil.

Next World Potato Congress webinar will be held on December 15, 2020, when Mark Taylor of the James Hutton Institute will speak on 'Developing the Pipeline from Genomics to New Products'

Videogame technology will be used to help develop the perfect potato as part of a ground-breaking new project involving Abertay University and a major potato seed supplier.

Public appreciation of the food and agriculture sector is greater in 2020 than it was two years ago. This applies to all sub-sectors, apart from pig farming, which is held in the same esteem as it was in 2018.

Only last week the organisers of PotatoEurope 2021 have opened the pre-registration for former participants of
PotatoEurope and already now a great number of participants have signed up for the upcoming edition.