South African potato production takes place across all nine provinces, with the crop cultivated and harvested throughout the year to ensure a steady supply to the local market. Thus, the ongoing evaluation and introduction of new varieties are essential to enable production across a wide range of environments under both irrigated and dryland conditions.
Variety selection is a critical decision that influences yield and production efficiency. Increasingly, evaluations must also assess quality characteristics that balance producer requirements with consumer preferences.
For producers, variety selection depends not only on yield but also on disease resistance, particularly to common scab, which supports more sustainable potato production. Environmental adaptability, including drought tolerance and the length of the growing season, must also be considered.
There are currently more than 140 registered potato varieties in South Africa, and companies like Wesgrow are continuously developing and evaluating new cultivars for various market segments. Wesgrow alone tests approximately 25 new cultivars in field trials every year.
The company currently represents 22 growers covering more than 6 000ha of potato production in South Africa. It also introduced the major market cultivars Mondial and Sifra to the country.
South African consumers have very specific preferences when it comes to the potatoes they buy. Sifra and Mondial continue to dominate the fresh potato market because of their attractive skins and uniform sizing, as consumers place a high value on visual appeal.
By contrast, consumers elsewhere in the world are more aware of the cooking properties of potatoes and are presented with a greater selection in this regard, as their preferences are more strongly influenced by these characteristics, says Walter Nel, production manager at Wesgrow.
Nel explains that the company produces potato seed and plant material not only for the South African market but also for all the country’s neighbouring Southern African Development Community states. A wide portfolio of available cultivars is therefore necessary, not only for Wesgrow but also for South African producers who want to supply these markets and must cater to local preferences.
Nel says that in Namibia, Mondial and Sifra are preferred because of their drought tolerance, while the Zimbabwean market favours cultivars like Valor and Tyson for their performance under dryland conditions. Zimbabwe’s main commercial market still comprises unwashed potatoes.
New potato cultivars
According to Nel, Wesgrow recognises significant opportunities in the potato industry through the development and introduction of new cultivars. He highlighted some of the new varieties the company has been working on that could have an impact on the future of the industry.
For the processing market, particularly the crisping segment, the short-season Norman variety shows promise. It has a growing period of approximately 90 days, during which it is capable of accumulating very high levels of dry matter, allowing for better crisping, and has good resistance to common scab.
For French fries, two cultivars have been identified: Quintera and Travolta. Quintera is a short-season cultivar (around 90 days). It produces large, block-shaped tubers and has a highly stable dry matter content, allowing for even crisping and colouring during frying. The cultivar is widely adaptable to a variety of production conditions and has moderate resistance to both early and late blight as well as common scab.
Travolta is a short- to medium-season cultivar (90 to 110 days). It offers good flavour and texture, as well as highly stable dry matter content. It is also widely adaptable and has strong resistance to early blight, common scab, and powdery scab.
Several new varieties for the fresh market have the potential to make a significant impact on South Africa’s potato industry by meeting consumer preferences while offering producers advantages such as improved disease resistance and varying growing periods.
Sensation is suitable for the pre-pack retail market. It is a high-yielding, medium-season cultivar with a growing period of approximately 110 days. It has very good resistance to common scab and late blight, and produces tubers with cream-coloured flesh that keep their structure after cooking.
Supernova is a high-yielding cultivar that’s also suited to the pre-pack market. It produces yellow-fleshed tubers with uniform internal colouring and is resistant to late blight and common scab.
Buffalo is a vigorous, high-yielding cultivar that produces white-fleshed tubers. It has very good resistance to common scab, powdery scab, and late blight. The cultivar performs well under cold growing conditions and is considered a suitable option for export markets.
Finally, for the dual-purpose market, there is Invictus, a high-yielding cultivar with light-yellow flesh and rapid emergence. It has good resistance to common scab and late blight, and is suitable for both French fry processing and the fresh potato market due to its good dry matter content.
While it remains to be seen which of these cultivars will ultimately gain widespread acceptance in South Africa, their development emphasises the importance of continually evaluating new varieties to help producers meet changing market demands and production challenges.
