News on Research from Europe

With weed control a key challenge for farmers, and reduced sensitivity to some herbicides a continuing problem. New product trials by FMC have demonstrated that effective controls are on the horizon.

Potato coop Agrico announced that Peter Oldenkamp will become director of Agrico Research starting August 1, 2023. He succeeds Sjefke Allefs as director. Sjefke Allefs has worked at Agrico Research since 1990, in the position of director for the past 24 years.

The Horizon 2020 EU project Accelerated Development of multiple-stress tolerAnt PoTato (ADAPT), in which Europatat is participating, aims at developing new strategies to make potatoes fit for the challenging growth conditions of the future.

Investigadores de Albacete del grupo de Biología Molecular y Fisiología Vegetal del Instituto Botánico de la Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha (UCLM), junto al grupo de Genómica de Plantas y Biotecnología del IBMCP-CSIC.

The World Potato Congress presents a webinar with Dr. Alison Lees, Potato Pathologist with The James Hutton Institute, Dundee, UK on February 28, 2023 at 9.00am Eastern Standard Time (EST).

From 8 to 10 February 2023, thirty-two Belgian suppliers of fruit and vegetables, potatoes and fruit trees, together with three trade associations and four fruit and vegetable auctions, will present themselves at the joint stand of Flanders’ Agricultural Marketing Board, VLAM, at Fruit Logistica in hall 27, at stand A 22.

The Horizon 2020 EU project Accelerated Development of multiple-stress tolerAnt PoTato (ADAPT), in which Europatat is participating, aims at developing new strategies to make potatoes fit for the challenging growth conditions of the future.

Researchers at ETH Zurich and the Carnegie Institution for Science have shown how nitrogen fertilizer could be produced more sustainably. This is necessary not only to protect the climate, but also to reduce dependence on imported natural gas and to increase food security.

Neiker technology center, member of the Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), and the Alava cooperative UDAPA have signed a transfer agreement until 2032 for the potato varieties Beltza and Edurn.

The ADAPT project aims at developing new strategies to make potatoes fit for the challenging growth conditions of the future. Within this project, potato varieties trials are conducted in Austria.

In this new position, Joost will be responsible for the downstream part of Solynta, leading product management, commercial and go to market strategies.

The Conference main theme was 'EUPPA driving sustainability across the potato processing sector'. It was the first gathering of the kind since the Covid-19 outbreak.

On 9, 10 and 11 November, HZPC will open its doors in Joure – and online – to anyone with a passion for potatoes. During Potato Days 2022, they will discuss the challenges of food security and sustainability, now and in the future.

The Working Group for GB Potatoes has striven to bring the industry together to explore and develop what the industry needs following the levy payer ballots in Potatoes and Horticulture.

The DNA in humans and gorillas is about 95% identical. This percentage is much lower between potato varieties. This might sound like a fun fact to remember for a pub quiz, but for Remco Ursem and Stan Oome, it is a premise that carries a serious challenge.

The PotatoEurope trade fair, which took place this week on 7 and 8 September, at the Rittergut Bockerode Estate in Springe-Mittelrode near Hanover, Germany, has confirmed its role as the international venue for potato.

Much is expected from precision farming both inside and outside the potato sector. The term is often mentioned in the same breath as a sustainable future for potato cultivation. But precision farming is more than a future perspective.

Humans have been reshaping the planet’s land for millennia by clearing wildlands to grow crops and raise livestock. As a result, humans have cleared one-third of the world’s forests and two-thirds of wild grasslands