Drought is a problem for potato growers in Germany, reports Agrarheute.com portal. Therefore, breeders are working to develop varieties that can maintain productivity in conditions of scarce rainfall. Among the important requirements for new products are also a reduction in the amount of fertilizers during cultivation and resistance to viruses and pests.
It takes about ten years to bring a new variety of potato to market. Seed potatoes for North Africa have long been grown in Germany. It withstands heat stress, drought and strong insolation.
At the Low Saxon breeding plant Nordkartoffel in the Lüneburg Heath alone, about 1000 different tubers are crossed each year. The breeding company Böhm in Lüneburg and the breeding company Nordkartoffel in Ebstorf are merged under the Europlant brand. Böhm-Nordkartoffel Agrarpproduction propagates seedlings on its own farms.
The next generations are grown by farmers in Schleswig-Holstein, Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Bavaria. Some subsidiaries propagate planting material in European regions, such as the Netherlands, France or Finland.