EUROPLANT presents low input program

Lueneburg, December 2021 |EUROPLANT presents potato varieties with high nutrient efficiency. The high-yielding and high-quality special varieties for low input production protect the environment and save costs.

The rising energy prices of recent months are also leading to significantly increasing costs in potato production. The energy-intensive production of nitrogen fertilisers in particular is increasingly burdening the prices for mineral fertilisers. This does not remain without effect on potato production.

However, not only rising costs, but also increasing demands from the side of environmental and ground-water protection are leading to calls for higher nutrient efficiency and a wide ecological spread of modern varieties.

EUROPLANT is meeting these requirements as part of its Grow green sustainability offensive. For many years now, the focus of our variety development has been on improving naturalresistance to potato diseases and pests, increasing resilience to environmental factors and enhancing cultivation efficiency combined with stable varietal characteristics in terms of taste and appearance.

The result of this work is a selection of special varieties for low input production. Our innovative varieties for low input production are very efficient at acquiring and converting nutrients, enabling them to achieve a high yield of consistent quality with a reduced supply of nutrients.

"By cultivating of our innovative varieties, plant cultivation measures can be reduced. This protects the environment and the farmer's wallet," says Jörg Eggers, Managing Director of EUROPLANT Pflanzenzucht GmbH.

Currently, 17 potato varieties are assigned to the low input program. "We distinguish between two groups: potato varieties of the PREMIUM category require 12.5 % less nitrogen fertiliser, in GOLD category it is even 25 %," explains Jörg Eggers.

The PREMIUM varieties include, for example, the mainly firm cooking Danina, the firm cooking Simonetta (variety of the year 2021/2022) and the floury cooking Karelia. Omega and Rumba as processing
varieties also have a nitrogen fertiliser requirement reduced by 12.5 %.

The mainly firm cooking varieties Coronada, Floridana and Jelly as well as Annalena, Bernina and Torenia from the firm cooking segment are assigned to the GOLD category.

EUROPLANT press release "EUROPLANT presents low input program" (PDF)