Potato

Genetics, environment, and management for sustainable enhancement of potato quality and yield

Goals

Potato is the first and front-runner crop-specific program of CropXR. It aims to contribute to the development of robust potato varieties and the development of future-proof, climate-resilient potato cultivation practices. The team works on obtaining unprecedented new data on the genotypic variation in potato physiological and performance responses to both drought and nitrogen availability. By gathering data, a new generation of potato crop models is being developed. These models will give breeders and farmers the tools to manage potato breeding in a sustainable way in the context of the changing climate. 

Photos: In the summer of 2024 the team visited the field experiments. CropXR collaborates with two farms: experimental farm SPNA in Kollumerwaard and experimental farm Rusthoeve in Colijnsplaat.

Approach

Potato unites many industrial partners in the potato value chain and colleagues from scientific institutions. Events and meetings are an important element to foster links between these partners and other CropXR teams. Moreover, these meetings contribute to optimal knowledge exchange to accelerate the work. The Potato team works on AI-driven models to predict the yield and product quality of the potato. Moreover, it examines the crop’s response to abiotic factors such as water limitation, and microbial soil health.

Picture left: Eelco Boot of experimental farm Rusthoeve in Colijnsplaat.

Activities

The team engages in integrating its own findings and the knowledge obtained in other work packages of CropXR. The aim is to translate all these insights to the reality of potato breeding and production. The activities include a unique combination of modelling and experiments. Field and greenhouse experiments are pivotal to obtain data. Furthermore, the analyses of large datasets support these experiments, as the insights fuel the strategies deployed in the field. Another element of the activities consists of phenotyping soil microbiome-potato interactions. This means that the team observes and analyses the dynamics between the nature (genes) and the nurture (influence of the soil microbiome) of the crop.  

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Team

Work package leader Corné Pieterse, Professor Plant-Microbe Interactions, UU
Work package leader Niels Anten, Professor Crop & Weed Ecology, WUR 
Bastiaan Schoenmaker, Site director, Royal Avebe – industrial partner  
Berend Snel, Professor Science/Biology (Bioinformatics), UU  
Bernard de Geus, liaison officer CropXR & coordinator HIP  
Carolien de Kovel, researcher/teacher, WUR  
Corné Verburg, PhD candidate, TU Delft  
Edwin van der Vossen, Director Research & Development, Solynta – industrial partner  
Eelco Boot, Head Business Operations, Rusthoeve – partner organisation  
Ernst-Jan Eggers, Genetics researcher, Solynta – industrial partner 
Francisco Pinto Espinosa, Assistant Professor, WUR
Fred van Eeuwijk, Professor, WUR   
Gerard van der Linden, researcher, WUR 
Guus Heselmans, R&D Director, Meijer Potato – industrial partner  
Inge van der Wiel, Research employee, WUR  
Jenske Aben, PhD candidate, WUR
Jochem Evers, Professor Crop Physiology, WUR  
Jochem Huijben, PhD candidate, UU  
Johan Hopman, Senior Director Global Potato Breeding and Variety Selection / Head of research HIP – industrial partner  
Josias Kern, PhD candidate, WUR  
Leo van Marion, Agronomist, McCain Foods Europe – industrial partner  
Lucia Perez Borroto, researcher, WUR
Marcello Gazale, PhD candidate, WUR  
Marciel Pereira Mendes, Operational Manager NPEC, UU  
Marija Babic, PhD candidate, WUR  
Martin Vrij, Manager Agronomy Farm Frites International – industrial partner  
Michiel de Vries, Global Director Potato Science and Innovation, McCain Foods Europe – industrial partner  
Neil Budko, Associate Professor Numerical Analysis, TU Delft  
Paul Ravenbergen, Post doc, WUR
Paul Struik, Emeritus Professor of Crop Physiology, WUR  
Ray Hendriks, PhD candidate, WUR  
Roeland Berendsen, Assistant Professor / Managing Director NPEC-UU, UU  
Stijn Nagelkerke, PhD candidate, UU  
Willem Spriensma, researcher SPNA – partner organization  
Xinyou Yin, senior researcher, WUR