"Fiorella" is among the most promising cultivars developed by the Italian experimental fields of Unapa (Unione nazionale delle associazioni pataticole), boasting a dormancy time (i.e., the storage time before it starts to develop sprouts) of three months. This allows the product, which is usually stored from July to May/June of the following year, to be preserved whilst reducing the need for storage treatments by half. Another very interesting variety is Morisa, derived from a hybridisation with the French "Gazelle" variety and boasting a much higher yield than the current market average, as it can produce 500 quintals per hectare.
These are just some of the innovations presented at the International Potato Symposium held in Rimini last week. Around 400 participants took part in the three-day event.
"Many topics emerged during the Symposium. One that attracted attention was the organisation of the production system. Among this year's novelties, in fact, there is the fact that the European Union has also created a CMO for potato growing. For the time being, this regulation has only been applied by Italy, giving the possibility to potato cooperatives to access operational programmes similar to those reserved for fruit and vegetables, in order to start a necessary path to renew the production processes in particular through the search for innovation," explains Luciano Trentini, coordinator of The International Potato Symposium.
The Symposium also addressed the challenges that potato-growing throughout Europe has had to face due to the presence of Agriotes spp, commonly called Ferretto Ferretto, which is an insect that causes serious damage to tubers; to bacterial Ralstonia solanacearum, which also affects processing tomatoes; and to Cyperus, a weed that is widespread throughout Europe and that has been included among the quarantine organisms with specific protocols for its control.
Very interesting topics have arisen from the potato promotion projects that have been set up to improve the consumption of this precious tuber, which can make a fundamental contribution to solving the problem of world hunger.
"Italy is a non-self-sufficient country. We buy potatoes mainly from France (for 40-50% of our domestic needs), but also from Germany, and early potatoes from Mediterranean countries. Since we are currently almost entirely dependent on foreign countries, we are working on new Italian varieties. The new cultivars that were presented at the exhibition in front of the Symposium attracted a lot of interest along with our excellent products, which have as many as six designations of origin. Since Italian production can be considered a niche one, we have to focus on high quality."
Around 375 million tonnes of potatoes are cultivated worldwide. China is the leading global player and produces about 95 million tonnes per year, followed by India (56 million tonnes) and Ukraine (21 million tonnes). In 2023, the EU-27 produced approximately 48.5 million tonnes of potatoes for the fresh market and the processing industry (source: Eurostat). The main producing countries are Germany (24%), France (18%), the Netherlands (14%), Poland (12%), and Belgium (8%). The analyses presented show that the consumption of processed products is showing very positive upward trends worldwide.
Looking at production averages over the last five years, world potato availability has decreased significantly, leading to a generalised increase in consumer prices.