b'SUSTAINABLE SPUDS The push continues for potatoes that can be grown with less water, other inputs. BY: TREVOR BACQUEITS NOT A secret that potatoes aretime with company president Tom Hughes both water hungry and grown in plentyoptimistic that the current variety dubbed across North America. However, withDanina, a yellow fleshed, yellow skinned recent periods of prolonged drought andpotato, can be one of many that continue dryness in both Canada and the Unitedto provide yield while cutting back on States, water availability is becoming anwater demands.increasingly larger issue. Luckily, potatoThis past year has really highlighted breeders have been working on lowhow tough it is for potato growers when input potatoes, which includes waterthe weather turns sour for them, says consumption, to grow more sustainableHughes in a phone interview. Our potatoes in a world with a changingbreeders have been working to develop climate and weather patterns. Thevarieties that are more drought tolerant conversation has changed and its clearand these varieties, you cant grow them theres a strong focus now on varietieswithout any water, but you can grow them that will not only reproduce well forwith less water.various processing industries, but oneHow much less? About 23 per cent, that also aligns with many countriesaccording to Earth Freshs 2021 trial data, efforts to reduce carbon footprints whilewhich included research plots in Idaho,Earth Fresh Farms President Tom Hughesmaintaining yield. The answer is asWisconsin and Arizona, considering water simple as it is complex, and genetics playsavailability in certain U.S. states as well as a large role.certain parts of Western Canada fighting One company, Burlington, Ont.-baseddrought. Hughes acknowledges each Earth Fresh Farms (EFF), is inching closergrowing area is different, but estimates to bringing new, low-water-use varieties toa new variety such as Danina could save market in North America. After partneringfarmers US$11.50 per acre on water costs. with Hamburg, Germanys EuroPlant, itFor Hughes, a large upside to such a began trialing lower water use potatoesvariety is that reduction in water as an around North America in 2017. Theinput will be critical moving forward, genetics were then first propagated atespecially as climate change continues EFFs Potato Seed Solutions breedingto affect growing conditions for North centre in Idaho Falls, ID. About halfwayAmerican potato farmers.through its bring-to-market phase,It would be nice to have varieties that theres continued hope there are rockstill perform well for the growers, thats solid varieties for growers that would bethe main thing, (that) even in tougher available by spring 2026. This year, trialsyears, theyll still be able to get a good are beginning in Manitoba for the firstcrop, he explains. HZPC CEO Gerard Backx16SPUDSMART.COM Summer 2022'