Selecting varieties for organic potato production

Author: Orsolya Papp

Problem: In Hungary, organic potato production is mainly based on commercially available varieties bred for the conventional, high-input sector. There is a lack of availability, information, and guidance for organic growers to select appropriate potato varieties for their production systems.  There are risks involved in testing conventional varieties under organic conditions on a large scale, because their performance may be different from official variety descriptions. Moreover, farmers usually do not have always the skills or equipment to accurately measure yield differences among varieties. 

Solution: Analysis of qualitative and quantitative attributes of a wide range of varieties on a small scale can be carried out by farmer themselves, to better understanding of the most appropriate varieties for organic systems. As an example, on-farm testing for determining quantitative and qualitative parameters of 13 well-known potato varieties have been carried out on 12 organic farms in Hungary.

zenodo.org: Selecting varieties for organic potato production