ACI Seed arranged 18 Field Day Programs of 13 Varieties of Seed Potato in February 2023. Potato is one of the leading crops for the Business considering its potentiality. The field day program was organized to focus on the new varieties; especially Valencia and Cartagena. The origin of Valencia and Cartagena is in the Netherlands and the varieties have been launched after multiple trials and demonstrations in the most cultivated areas. The Business is getting a significant response from the dealers, retailers and farmers from Bogura, Rajshahi, Joypurhat, Rangpur, Gaibandha, Dinajpur, Thakurgaon, Cumilla, Bhola & Barguna. Valencia is a very encouraging variety with an average yield of 39 MT per hectare which is 38% more than the most popular variety – Diamant in Bangladesh. The average weight is 80 gm of about 70% tubers. It can be used as a table as well as for industrial purposes. The dry matter percentage is about 22.5% in it. Valencia is a late blight & scab resistance variety. The harvesting duration is 80-85 days which is 5-10 days earlier than regular varieties in our country. It can be stored for 70-75 days at normal temperature. The processing loss is less than 2%. Cartagena is another auspicious potato variety of ACI Seed with an average yield of 43 MT per hectare which is 40% more than Asterix. The skin colour of the variety is very attractive. The processing loss of the variety is less than 1.5%. Cartagena is a late blight & scab resistance variety. It can be stored for 70-75 days at normal temperature. The dry matter percentage is about 19%. More than 1700 people participated including farmers, retailers, and dealers in the field day programs. The participants were very excited to see the performance and know the key information about the seed potato varieties through the programs and they were highly interested to cultivate the variety in the next season.
