On Tuesday, August 8, parties in the organic sector signed a covenant which should encourage a transition to disease-resistant organic potato varieties. 'The most important step is that the retail sector is also prepared to give priority to the resistant potato,' says Edith Lammerts van Bueren, senior researcher at the Louis Bolk Institute and professor at Wageningen UR.
Is the robust potato also feasible for the conventional grower? And what about the hybrid potatoes? These subjects are also treated by Lammerts van Bueren.
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BB's journalist, Niels vd Boom, doesn't really ask sharp questions. If you read the text of the agreement carefully, you will notice the following:This is a response to this article:
1) Abuse of copper as a foliar fertilizer will be approved until 2020. Can Edith Lammerts van Bueren also defend this? Copper use in 2016 was downright bad for the image of the organic sector.
2) resistance can be broken quickly if phytophthora mutates. That is why the breeders advise to continue to spray with crop protection products. Much less often and a much lower dose.
It is precisely the organic sector that cannot start spraying! Is the organic sector now going to break through the resistance by growing varieties unprotected? With that, the organic sector can destroy years of innovation, and mess it up for the mainstream sector?
3) And what does the agreement actually offer? Retail is still allowed to stick to its own quality requirements, and therefore ignore the resistant varieties if they fall short in quality on a single characteristic.
It is primarily a "clearance for buyers" covenant.