According to a recent interview, potato supplier Albert Bartlett is trying to find a more resilient and sustainable variety to replace Maris Piper.
The group’s procurement director Paddy Graham-Jones, said that extremes of weather and rising costs over the last six years had made it less financially viable to supply Maris Piper and that large quantities of water were often needed for washing.
“The financial loss of producing a crop of Maris Piper that does not make washed pre-pack grade, can be the difference between profit and loss for a grower,” he told the Liverpool Echo. “Our agronomy team is working with our retail customers to try and develop alternative varieties that still offer customers great taste, but are easier to grow, require less fertiliser and water, and cope better with the climatic extremes that occur on a more regular basis than they did 20 years ago.”
Maris Piper was first introduced to the market in 1966 and remains popular with consumers, despite numerous agronomy issues, such as the variety’s susceptibility to common scab and uneven skin finish.