De pootaardappelteelt in de veenkolonien

Natural conditions in the Fen Settlements (Veenkoloniën), a reclaimed peatland area in the northeast of the Netherlands, are usually favourable for the production of seed potatoes. The soil and climate are right and there are few wingless aphids at the time of selection and field inspection.

There are many experienced and competent growers in the area; quite a lot of them produce seed potatoes for use entirely or mainly on their own farms.

Production is economically justified: seed potatoes can be fitted into the cropping plans of farms in the Fen Settlements in various ways. An analysis on one farm showed, that earning capacity of the enterprise could be improved by inclusion of seed potato production. Little criticism can be made of the results, especially for quality. It was found possible, both by choice of the seed stock and especially by the absence of wingless aphids, to get a healthy culture.

Certain cultural measures influencing the yields were capable of improvement as by use of sprouted tubers, preventing break-off of sprouts during planting, and increasing the number of plants per ha up to 50.000.