Norman grows quickly and vigorously, has a high dry matter content and produces excellent yields, without compromising on taste or texture. By the way: did you know that this variety owes its name to Norman Borlaug? He was an agronomist who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for alleviating hunger by developing innovative new crops. Calling our Norman a Nobel Prize winner may be going a bit too far, but this variety has certainly earned quite a bit of praise from the three people we interviewed about this variety: a product specialist, a seed potato grower and a potato wholesaler.
THE PRODUCTSPECIALIST: Nikolaos Pentaris
Nikolaos is resolute about his opinion: he is extremely enthusiastic about Norman. ‘I don’t want to exaggerate, but I think the acreage allocated this variety is extremely likely to increase by tenfold in the few years. Aside from that, I think Norman will soon become the gold standard for early crisps potatoes.’
Nikolaos is at the forefront when varieties are released by HZPC Research for further research by the product specialists. Out of the five product specialists engaged by HZPC, Nikolaos is the one who focuses on the varieties used for the production of crisps. So, Norman ended up on his desk. ‘As a product specialist, we are the link between the breeders and the sales department. We look at what makes a variety truly unique and interesting for the market, also in comparison to other HZPC varieties. And that, in turn, serves as the basis for the sales department, whose task is to sell them.’
Meanwhile, Norman has been available on the commercial market for about two years. Around 22 hectares of this variety were grown last year. The demand for Norman is high, and it goes without saying that we want to meet it. So, this year we are expanding the acreage by twofold, and will continue to do this, over and over again, for as long as necessary. The launch of the Norman variety was fantastic, recalls Nikolaus. ‘Seed potato growers, growers of ware potatoes, the crisps industry, consumers: the entire chain is hugely appreciative of this variety. It is a variety with an abundance of positive traits.’
Norman is very flexible, for example. Nikolaos explains: ‘Normally speaking, potatoes are transported directly from the field to the processing plant. Early varieties are usually not stored, but Norman is an exception.
Suppose the weather is nice today, and you know it’s going to rain in the next few days. Harvesting Norman in advance to meet the crisps industry’s daily demand is no problem! Norman retains its high standard of quality, even after storage. And that’s a huge advantage in the early season, when weather conditions can be quite disappointing during the harvest.’
The crisps industry is also happy with Norman because they need to put in less effort – and thus money – to achieve the same result in comparison to other varieties. Any sprouts on the tubers fall right off after storage, after a quick shake, leaving you with a nice clean potato. Thanks to its high dry matter content, Norman is also very easy to process, and the yellow skin means less peeling – as well as less waste and therefore more crisps.
Nikolaos is predicting a splendid future for Norman. ‘I’m sure growers who deliver to processing plants early will soon all be asking for Norman. However, people are always critical when new breeds are brought to the market. We haven’t heard a discouraging word about Norman yet, though. Everyone in the chain who has been introduced to this variety is only asking for more in the upcoming season. In that respect, Norman is a dream come true for our sales department,’ Nikolaos says with a big grin.’
THE SEED POTATO GROWER: Ewout van der Star
Contracting company van der Star on the Dutch island of Texel grows 80 hectares of seed potatoes. This is one of the many activities carried out by Ewout, his brother Bart and his father in their family-owned and operated company. They are assisted by a team of five permanent employees and a crew of seasonal workers. Traditionally, the company has aways grown exclusively HZPC varieties, including Spunta, Fabula and Memphis. This is customary on this island: the growers here hold loyalty to their suppliers in great esteem. According to Ewout, there was some hesitation at Van der Star at first: ‘We didn’t think things were going all that well in terms of variety development at HZPC yet. But you can see they are recovering very well now, and we are pleased about that. So, we will stay with them for now.’
Ewout added Norman to the variety package only a year ago. The most important reason for this? ‘We like a bit of variation, so you don’t have to grade all your lots at the same time. Norman can be harvested all year round, provided the conditions are good enough. Otherwise, you may encounter some product damage. We are always looking for new varieties, but until now, we have been unable to find one that can rival Spunta. Spunta easily produces high yields and commands a good price.’
Ewout is of the opinion that you can’t really judge the performance of a new variety until you have been growing it for a full year. Also, in a challenging crop year, it’s difficult to form an accurate opinion. Ewout drily comments: ‘It started raining in July 2023, and it is still raining this spring.’ Of course, a few things struck him during his first year of growing Norman: ‘For a crisps variety, Norman produces quite a lot of tubers. This is usually quite challenging in crisps varieties. The plant is nice and sturdy, and grows quickly. However, Norman is prone to developing scab. I don’t mean powdery scab, but the tubers did have pockmarks on the outside. We therefore decided to spray less, but this unfortunately resulted in Phytophthora in one lot. Norman’s submerged weight is also high, so you need to handle this variety carefully and store it in a crate to prevent pressure spots. Another plus point is that Norman doesn’t appear to be very susceptible to the potato virus. I have heard that crisps manufacturers are very happy with the variety thanks to its deep-frying performance. So, all in all, the future is bright for Norman!’
Ewout is happy with Norman, although he does mention a critical factor for the future: ‘In principle, all lights are green for Norman, as the variety seems to be producing good yields. I do hope that Norman’s susceptibility to scab will diminish in time. Otherwise, Norman will have to compete with some of our other varieties, such as Rashida and Memphis. Ultimately, we will opt for the variety that we believe performs best.’
THE POTATO WHOLESALER: Hans Scheidtweiler
Hans Scheidtweiler has been employed at Weuthen, a potato wholesaler with as many as 11 branches throughout Germany, for 32 years. His base of operations is Uedem, just over the Dutch border near Nijmegen. Hans works as a crop advisor as well as a contact for Frito-Lay, one of Weuthen’s biggest customers. Along with other suppliers and employees of this well-known crisps factory, Hans is also part of an innovation team that focuses on a variety of subjects, including new potato varieties. André Teckelenburg of HZPC Germany, a former colleague of Hans, brought Norman to the team’s attention several years ago. According to André, this could be a very suitable variety for Weuthen and its customers. They have, in fact, been trading in Norman for five years now. Hans recalls: ‘We had very positive experiences with Norman, right from the start, during the first two years. This was reason enough to keep it on our product range.’
Norman is doing well as an early bird variety, he says. ‘With regard to crisps potatoes, we always select varieties that are harvested early in the season. We generally opt for Lady Rosetta, which is actually a medium-early variety. Lady Rosetta can be harvested early, but the plants need to be pre-germinated and covered with plastic. This is a cost-intensive process, and the results aren’t always of a uniform quality. With Norman, this is not necessary at all: it is a fast and vigorously growing variety, even in colder springs. It produces good yields with a large number of uniform tubers that are perfect for the crisps industry.’
That sounds like a super spud! Does Norman have any drawbacks, after all? Hans has to laugh when we ask him that question: ‘In my experience, a variety without any drawbacks at all cannot possibly exist. But those of Norman are manageable. If I do have to mention one, it is the fact that this variety is susceptible to the tobacco rattle virus (TRV). This results in brown spots in the light flesh of the tuber. However, because we harvest Norman early in the season, this risk is really not so high for us.
Weuthen plans to significantly expand the acreage it has allocated to Norman. ‘Norman is an ideal variety, especially for the first two weeks of delivery. Our growers are also happy with it. Many prefer not to grow a variety with a red skin, such as Lady Rosetta. I also hope we will be able to attract new growers thanks to Norman, precisely because of all the advantages offered by this variety as an early bloomer.’