All eyes in the potato sector were on Wageningen Solynta in 2011, when it announced the world's first hybrid potato from seed. In 2015, interested parties were able to view the first variety in the field. Yet almost ten years later, the potato is still almost always planted. The company does not sit idle behind the scenes, as shown in an interview with CCO Joost van Regteren.
In recent years it has been quiet in the media around Solynta. What's it like behind the scenes?
"We have grown from 20 to 100 employees. A large part of them work in R&D (breeding). At the moment the focus is on marketing. In 2023 we started selling our potato seed worldwide. We are now in Our second growing season. These are not the first varieties that we present, but where we previously mainly showed prototypes, the current varieties can be used commercially."
Are farmers eager to get started with potatoes from seed?
"A growing number of growers, spread across twenty countries, use our seed and are positive about it. That makes us satisfied and of course we are also very proud. The hybrid potato from seed (TPS or True Potato Seed) is not a revolution, but An evolution. Seed potato production has a huge impact that we can reduce with this product."
What do you mean by impact?
The current production system for seed potatoes puts a lot of pressure on the environment. You're talking about six to eight years of propagation. That costs land, water and other inputs. Moreover, your yield and quality are not guaranteed. With potatoes from seed you shorten this process to six months and you don't need all those hectares for this. In addition, we already have seven or eight resistance genes against phythophthora. This is also necessary to keep this disease under control. With traditional breeding, this takes years. This is also possible with traditional genetic modification or Crispr-Cas, but that technology is not permitted here. It also takes longer."
Seed potato trading companies are probably eager for your innovation?
"We feel that tension, but I would like to emphasize that Solynta is looking for cooperation. I think it can coexist perfectly. We are now focusing on export destinations in Africa, Asia and India. These are countries where potato cultivation is growing extremely fast. In Europe, 'clonal propagation' will continue to exist. I can imagine that growers here would also like to start with potatoes from seed and then propagate these tubers traditionally. Do not forget that the well-known trading companies together only have a five-year market share are not active everywhere in the world. This fragmented coverage also means that the development of a hybrid potato is not as quick. In vegetable seeds (where Van Regteren previously worked at Bayer), innovations follow each other more quickly It is unimaginable that we have been growing Bintje in the Netherlands for more than 100 years. In the vegetable world, something like this is unthinkable."
So the chance that a Dutch potato grower will sow his starting material is not that great?
"The aforementioned countries are increasingly focusing on the potato as a basic food. This replaces rice, which has less nutritional value and uses more water. The footprint of a potato is very favorable. According to FAO figures, potato cultivation worldwide is growing by 3,5 percent. per year. That is not without reason. By exporting 25 grams of seed we replace 2.500 kilos of seed potatoes. It is now important for the sector and farmers to collect and share knowledge in Kenya and India. There they have a large network and a lot of agronomic knowledge. At the end of July, the Kenyan NVWA, the Kephis, approved to distribute three of our varieties."
Going back to crossing resistances. Can this be the solution to combat phythophthora?
"With hybrid breeding, the breeding process is much faster. A potato simply does not want to reproduce genetically, that is its natural property. We cracked that code in 2008 and further developed it. We have now incorporated varieties with three resistance genes against phytophthora, but we are also working on other resistances. Think of nematode resistance, for example. It is not as simple as it may seem disease pressure, not yet treated. In theory this is possible, but it is not in practice. By applying IPM (Integrated Pest Management) and only spraying zero to five times per season, you have a sustainable system in which resistance genes are retained for longer. "I don't see a potato with zero chemistry happening."
You spoke earlier about the practice. Which varieties do you offer?
"We currently only have table potato varieties in the package. We breed ourselves and also work with several potato processing companies to develop varieties for fries, chips and flakes. Because 80% of all potatoes worldwide are for direct consumption, that is our focus. Until now, the potatoes were first grown into plants and then planted out. This is laborious and adds complexity. That is why we also work with direct sowing. You can also sow them on 75 centimeter ridges a precision seed drill. The first weeks are crucial for the young crop. Once they are planted, they grow like a traditional crop race and climate.”
Solynta focuses on capturing market share. What is the biggest stumbling block to achieving this?
"It is extremely difficult to export potato seed at the moment. Simply because it is not on any list. A potato is a tuber, not a seed, you hear. Or they ask for a sample of 5.000 kilos. There you can get the entire Even within the EU, exporting is still surprisingly difficult. You would expect that the Netherlands, with a tradition in breeding, would welcome and support the technology. The opposite is true That takes time, but if we fail, other companies will not continue with their development. The current breeding method is too unpredictable and erratic. With hybrid potatoes from seed, this is a thing of the past -brainer'. We think this is no different for potatoes."