CAYTHORPE OPEN DAYS WILL SHOWCASE AROUND A DOZEN BREEDING COMPANIES.
BREEDERS exhibiting new varieties at the annual Caythorpe Open Days, which will take place on August 28th and 29th near Grantham, have given British Potato Review a sneak preview of some of the items they will have on display.
Grampian Growers will have 16 varieties on display including 10 named, which New Business Development Manager Claire Dyce said are the most advanced varieties out of the GPS program.
Claire said: “Grampian Growers will be exhibiting for the third year at Caythorpe, representing our most progressive GPS varieties, including the promising Bruar and Emmett which has so far shown great success and potential in trials with various companies.
“Last year was a huge success, with the two days seeing a good number of quality visitors from all sectors of the potato industry. These events require a massive amount of input and resources to run smoothly so it is great that all 11 companies come together and contribute to such a great event for the benefit of the UK potato industry.”
Highlights include “Bruar” which is a Harmony x Valor cross that has partial pallida and full resistance to RO1 aimed at the fresh market. “Feedback so far with Bruar is that it’s got great packing potential with quantities allocated for packers this year,” said Claire.
Bruar was added to the national list in September 2023.
“Another one to watch is “Emmett” which is a Melody x Gemson cross that certainly shows Gemson tuber numbers. The salad has first class taste, texture and cooking qualities and is resistant to RO1. Pallida resistance is still in trial as Emmett is currently in its first year of national list,” said Claire.
James Todd, Sales Manager at HZPC UK, said his company will be demonstrating the new varieties Cardyma (PCN tolerant processing variety), Invictus (reduced input fresh chipping/ processing variety) and Triple 7 (long term, lower temperature storage crisping variety) alongside existing commercial varieties focusing on varieties that offer sustainable credentials which may help customers meet their regenerative farming and sustainability goals.
A reduced nitrogen rate trial will be alongside the variety demonstration plots to assess and demonstrate the performance of the newer genetics.
Cygnet organisers Simon Taylor and Alistair Redpath said the company will be exhibiting three potential 2024 NL Entries, two crisping and one table variety.
The IPM team will be exhibiting a wide range of varieties in different segments including processing, salad and crisping, with a special focus on its PCN-resistant varieties.
Other breeders expected to be exhibiting new and existing varieties include Meijer, Solana, Germicopa, Caledonia, Stet and Cullen Allen.
