As spring has started in the Netherlands, the potato growing season is about to start and pre-planting operations are in full swing. At the center of the PotatoEurope event location in Lelystad, fourteen potato trial fields are being prepared. Here, various prominent companies from the sector will present existing products and introduce innovations that can make a (sustainable) contribution before, during and after cultivation.

The trial fields are being mapped out under supervision of coordinator and manager of the research section Pierre Bakker of Wageningen University & Research (WUR) Open Crops in Lelystad. ‘We are currently setting up fourteen diverse trial fields for PotatoEurope 2021 under good field conditions. This will contribute to presentations that, in September, will give visitors an interesting insight into developments in the sector', Bakker says, while being fully engaged in the field preparations.

The implementation of the potato demonstrations will also be addressed soon and will focus on current themes and issues in potato cultivation. BASF Nederland B.V., Bayer, Belchim, Certis Europe, FMC, Kreglinger Europe NV and UPL for example will show the latest developments in crop protection. Seed potato companies Agrico, HZPC, Schaap Holland and STET will participate with variety demonstration fields. Developer and manufacturer of crop protection solutions Nufarm will demonstrate one of their novelties: electric weed control. Vandinter Semo, a breeding company that develops trap and catch crops that are classified as green manure crops, in its own trial field will focus on green manure crops that can control nematodes. On the trial field of Horizon Flevoland, a regional development agency and a PotatoEurope partner, special attention is given to their projects for innovations in the agricultural sector, such as robust potato varieties.

Thanks to the diverse line-up of the trial fields, visitors can directly see the varieties, techniques and innovations presented at PotatoEurope being put into practice. This gives them a clear image of what they can actually do with these practices in their own daily operations. The products and innovations of the companies represented on the trial fields will not just provide visitors with the opportunity to renew their current business practices, but also offer information about a sustainable future for the full potato chain. This makes them match perfectly with the event theme of PotatoEurope 2021: “What's Now, What's New and What's the Future”. With this theme, the organisation aims to provide visitors with insight into current developments in the potato industry as well as a look at the future of the sector.

PotatoEurope is an international event exclusively dedicated to the entire potato industry chain. The event takes place each year, in one of the event's four partner countries: Germany, Belgium, France, the Netherlands. On September 1 and 2 the organisation expects to welcome more than 275 exhibitors and over 16.000 visitors.