On Thursday 10 November, Agrico opened its annual varieties and seedlings show at its breeding and research facility, Agrico Research, in Bant. The varieties show, which was also open on Friday 11 November, attracted many interested national and international visitors. During the opening day, Agrico’s managing director Jan van Hoogen presented four promising new varieties that have recently been included in the Dutch list of varieties.
Theme Greece
The theme at this year’s Agrico variety show was Greece. The potato has traditionally formed an essential part of the daily diet of Greek families. Potatoes are prepared in a variety of ways in Greece: fried, boiled, deep-fried or roasted. Large, oval round potatoes with yellow flesh are the most highly sought after on local Greek markets. The total growing surface area in Greece is approximately 44,000 hectares with average production numbering around 900,000 tonnes annually. The area under production by average Greek potato farmers is small, a grower with 10 hectares is considered to be a large farmer. The main Agrico potato varieties for the Greek market are Agria, Arnova, Arizona, Ambition, Arinda, Faluka and Spunta.
Spotlight varieties
At Agrico’s variety show, two varieties were in the spotlights: Arizona and Esmee. Arizona thanks its appearance in the spotlights to its high yields under a range of climatic conditions. Arizona is a second early, white-skinned bulk variety. This variety is very widely marketed in more than 60 countries in South Europe, the Balkan region and North Africa. Esmee also deserved a place in the spotlights. This firm cooker has yellow flesh and a lovely skin quality. Esmee is an early maturing, red-skinned variety that is currently marketed in North Africa, the Balkan region and a large part of Europe. Agrico sees huge growth potential for this variety.
New on the variety list
This year saw the appearance of four new Agrico varieties on the Dutch Variety List. One of these is Alicante. It is an early maincrop, pallida resistant crisping variety suitable for the market in North West Europe. Basin Russet is another new variety. This creamy, fleshy chipping variety offers outstanding quality, is pallida resistant and can be stored extremely well. The third new variety is Laudine – a second early variety with an attractive flesh colour, good cooking quality and suitable for the retail sector. The fourth newcomer is Vogue. A white-skinned, second early variety suitable for bulk but also for packing.
As well as the breeding results, managing director Jan van Hoogen also shared the most recent developments at Agrico, including the planned expansion at breeding station Agrico Research. This expansion will enable Agrico to develop even better new varieties in the future that reflect the corporate philosophy: “Say growth, say Agrico”.
Source: Agrico
