Organic potatoes take centre stage at PotatoEurope 2018
This year’s edition of PotatoEurope 2018 will offer visitors the chance to learn about practical solutions for organic potato cultivation. In total, more than 220 companies from the fields of breeding, fertilisation, crop protection, and technology for production and processing and 20 organic potato producers will participate at the outdoor event, which takes place on 12th and 13th September at Springe, near Hanover, as part of the special “Organic Potatoes Meeting Point” feature. The focus will be on organic conversion and specialist advice, research results, equipment and machinery, as well as marketing channels for the crop. Organic potatoes have the potential to be very profitable. In 2016, 124,000 tons of organic potatoes were marketed in Germany, but 17% had to be imported because of a shortfall in domestic production.
The special “Organic Potatoes Meeting Point” is organised by the Ökolandbau Niedersachsen Competence Center (KÖN). Organic associations and scientific institutes will also be represented in the feature, as well as the following companies: Beckmann & Brehm GmbH, Biocare Gesellschaft für biologische Schutzmittel mbH, Biofa AG Bio-Farming-Systems, Intrachem Bio Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG, Plocher GmbH integral-techni, and Demonstrationsbetriebe Ökol.Landbau.
As mechanical weed control in potato crops requires a lot of know-how, this year PotatoEurope will present a special demonstration of machines used for this important task. Participating in the “Mechanical weed control” demonstration are: APV Kompetenzcenter Nord GmbH, AVR bvba, Grimme Landmaschinenfabrik GmbH & Co. KG, Maschinenfabrik Schmotzer GmbH, Reichardt GmbH Steuerungstechnik, and Treffler Maschinenbau GmbH & Co. KG.
