Brand New Website About Sustainable Potato Fertilization

A brand-new website on sustainable potato fertilization is available to producers, crop managers, and consultants from BELFertil and Belgapom. Recipients will receive knowledge and useful advice on how to maximize fertilization efficiency.

Potatoes are grown on around 100,000 hectares by farmers in Belgium. Thousands of people in this nation are employed in the food chain that surrounds the potato.

“[...] potatoes are a bit 'lazy' in the field. The plant is not very efficient at absorbing nutrients through its shallow roots in the soil. Fortunately, as a farmer, you can ensure that efficiency increases, which ensures greater returns and less fertilizer loss. The right preparation, appropriate fertilization, and good follow-up crops ensure sustainable and optimal nutrient use in potato cultivation.,” the BELFertil experts wrote on their website.

BELFertil, the Belgian-Luxembourg association of the mineral fertilizers and biostimulants industry, and Belgapom, the professional association for Belgian potato processing and trade, put their heads together and provided an overview of all information about sustainable fertilization on a brand new website. The scientific advice was provided by Prof. Geert Haesaert, Full Professor at the Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University.

“Promoting good fertilization practices for potato cultivation to limit nitrogen losses is what we aim for! We want to increase nitrogen use efficiency to 70% by 2030. Ambitious, but with the right tips it is certainly feasible. Not only growers but also cultivation supervisors and agronomists from the potato processing industry, fertilizer advisors, and governments can come here for more insight into the challenges and solutions. Together we aim for a more precise use of mineral fertilizers, higher potato quality, a lower cost price, and less environmental impact. So win-win!” the experts concluded.