Royal HZPC Group Studies Variety-Specific Nutrient Needs, Aiming for “Nutritional Recipes” per Potato Variety
Royal HZPC Group is studying how potato varieties differ in nutrient needs, aiming to replace one-size-fits-all fertilization with variety-specific "nutritional recipes."
Royal HZPC Group is investigating how potato varieties differ in their nutritional requirements and nutrient-use efficiency, aiming to replace one-size-fits-all fertilization with variety-specific recommendations. The three-year research program is now in its second year.
Growing demand for food, changing cultivation conditions and pressure to reduce agricultural inputs are increasing the need for efficient nutrient management. Royal HZPC Group is investigating how potato varieties differ in their nutritional requirements and nutrient-use efficiency, with the aim of developing more precise fertilization recommendations.
Beyond standard strategies. Potato varieties are often grown using similar fertilization strategies, despite differences in growth rates, dry matter accumulation and sensitivity to nutrient deficiencies. The research examines how macro- and micronutrients influence crop growth, yield and quality — extending well beyond nitrogen alone.
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“One of the most important lessons we are currently learning is that varieties differ in their nutritional requirements and nutrient-use efficiency,” explains Mohammad Ghanbari, Program Leader Biometrics & Quantitative Genetics at Royal HZPC Group. “Not every variety takes up nutrients in the same way, and not every variety uses those nutrients equally efficiently.”
From nutrients to recipes. The research aims to identify which nutrients contribute to yield and quality and how these requirements vary between varieties. That could eventually support fertilization strategies tailored to individual varieties rather than standard recommendations. “Potato production will increasingly revolve around nutrient-use efficiency,” says Ghanbari. “Climate change, stricter regulations and the environmental impact of fertilizers are making it increasingly important to use nutrients more intelligently.”
Anouk Piquet, Manager of Research Operations at Royal HZPC Group, describes the longer-term objective: “The idea is that one day we may be able to provide variety-specific nutritional recipes. Almost like a multivitamin tailored to a particular variety. The better we understand what a variety needs, the more precisely we can manage its performance.”
Second of three years. The project is currently in the second year of a three-year research program. Although initial results have been encouraging, researchers say further data collection and analysis are necessary before drawing conclusions. Royal HZPC Group is collaborating with research and industry partners to develop methods for measuring and analyzing nutrient levels in soil and plant material — techniques that could provide faster information about crop nutritional status and help explain differences in varietal performance under specific conditions. “Ultimately, we do not only want to know which nutrients are important,” says Piquet. “We also want to understand why a variety performs less well under specific conditions and how we can explain those differences.”
For growers, the practical prize is obvious: if variety-specific recipes hold up, fertilizer budgets could be matched to what each cultivar actually uses — cutting both cost and emissions without sacrificing yield. For breeders, nutrient-use efficiency is emerging as a selection criterion on par with disease resistance, and HZPC’s program signals that the seed houses intend to own that data advantage.
