Ten years ago, Voltz Maraîchage decided to develop its expertise and varietal portfolio for sweet potatoes. The company is an expert in the field. “The varieties we offer in France and Belgium are American-licensed varieties, so we benefit from the scientific support of the United States. This enables us to offer quality service to our clients in terms of follow-up. Sweet potatoes really are one of the company's flagship products. It is a real strength of the company to have one person working on the project full-time, who can be in contact with the clients and provide them with real technical support, including field visits to make improvements on various aspects such as irrigation, conservation or cropping itinerary,” explains David Di Pretoro, research and development manager for sweet potatoes at Voltz Maraîchage.
Complementary range of 7 sweet potato varieties
Among the 7 varieties the company offers, the Orleans and the Bellevue are the most popular on the market today. “They represent 90% of the sales of orange-fleshed sweet potatoes. But we also offer two other varieties, the Evangeline and the Burgundy, which are very sweet and very tasty, destined for short distribution channels and direct sales. At the same time, we are currently testing other orange-fleshed varieties. In response to a desire for diversification, the company also offers sweet potatoes with purple flesh and skin, for a little extra color. This year, Voltz Maraîchage is testing two purple-fleshed varieties, focusing on shape and uniform size. And for the clients who do not care for the sweetness of our potatoes, the seeds company has also developed white-fleshed varieties that are less sweet while also bringing color to the shelves.”
Radiance potatoes
In search of earlier varieties
For the past two years, one of the main areas of development for the seed company has been earliness. “Production niches and the earliness of varieties are studied from a genetic point of view, in order to offer products that can cope better with cold weather or shorter summers. We are also further expanding our range for diversification. We are currently working on the Radiance variety, which could be two weeks earlier, enabling us to further develop in Northern France, since our clients could harvest it in September before the autumn rains. This region has a lot of potential, as the producers there really want to develop their sweet potato crops in order to bring the production closer to the points of sale.”
A growing French market
David Di Pretoro's job takes him all over France, and he has noticed a certain correlation between the evolution of plant sales and the presence of the French origin in supermarkets. “We are clearly seeing growth on the French market. Since last year, supermarkets have really started promoting the French origin. I was pleasantly surprised to find French sweet potatoes everywhere until January 15th. We are sensing a real interest from cooperatives, which are starting to grow in terms of surface areas, and this market could grow even further.
“There is potential for growth among producers in the green belt for everything from direct sales to fresh produce baskets. Sweet potatoes also have the advantage of being inexpensively advertised, since it is a natural ingredient in recipes and a vegetable with many virtues, including the fact that it is easily assimilated by diabetics.”
French organic mother plants
In order to facilitate management and satisfy both organic and conventional demand, Voltz Maraîchage's stock of mother plants for seedling multiplication is grown organically in France. Subsequently, seedlings can be produced using conventional or organic methods.
“The big advantage of sweet potatoes is that, to date, they have not been the target of any pests or diseases. We renew our stock of mother plants every year., which is rather technical and requires a certain know-how. That is why it is so important for our customers to have access to top-quality expertise and technical support at all times.”
For more information:
David Di Pretoro
Voltz Maraîchage
dpretoro@grainesvoltz.com