Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/622156
32 POTATO GROWER | JANUARY 2016 and no salinization, growers should go on with the things they do," says Konijn. "They do them almost perfectly already." Rather, the technology is aimed at introducing or increasing production of potatoes—and other crops—in areas that have proven challenging for growers in the past. After all, most of the world's population lives near coasts and deltas, where salty and brackish water are most prevalent. The challenge lies in making the biology work, to be sure, but the end product must also be economically viable. "If we want to grow salt-tolerant potatoes, it must be competitive," sayd Konijn. "Salt- tolerant agriculture is not only importing the right potatoes, putting them in the ground, then doing everything else like the old days. It's a totally different approach to agriculture. You have to use different fertilizers, develop a great drainage system, change the way you do your irrigation. This is a new area, and there's so much to discover." SALT Salt-tolerant potatoes at Nawazabad Farm in Sindh Province, Pakistan, are showing no ill effects of the region's highly saline soil. Photo by Arjen de Vos, Salt Farm Texel A Pakistani farm neighboring Nawazabad Farm is attempting to grow traditional crop varieties and seeing very little success because of high levels of salt in the soil. Photo by Arjen de Vos, Salt Farm Texel Dutch ambassador Marcel Vink visits with local growers about the success of salt-tolerant varieties in Pakistan's Punjab District. Photo by Nabeela Ahmad, Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands