In a significant step for regional potato cultivation, Seosan City, Chungcheongnam-do, has announced the production of over 30 metric tons of certified seed potato of the new variety ‘Geumseon’, developed by the Rural Development Administration (RDA). This harvest is the culmination of a meticulous, multi-year propagation program, starting with tissue culture plantlets in 2022, moving to pre-basic seed in 2023, and resulting in this year’s harvest of basic seed from a dedicated seed potato production complex in Unsan-myeon.
The ‘Geumseon’ variety is not merely a new name; it represents a strategic agricultural advancement with two key agronomic benefits:
- Enhanced Quality Traits: It is characterized by high starch content and a desirable fluffy texture, making it a superior choice for consumers and processors targeting the table stock market.
- Dual-Cropping Capability: Its most significant advantage is the ability to be cultivated in both spring and autumn seasons. This trait is a powerful tool for increasing land use efficiency and farmer income from the same plot of land.
This focus on shorter-cycle, adaptable varieties is increasingly relevant. According to a 2024 global agronomy report by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), climate volatility is pushing research and farming towards more flexible cropping systems. Dual-cropping and early-maturing varieties are identified as key strategies for mitigating risk and ensuring food security, allowing farmers to adapt to unpredictable weather patterns and spread economic risk across two harvests.
The post-harvest protocol in Seosan underscores the professionalism of the seed production chain. The harvested tubers will undergo cold storage and precise grading to meet strict seed certification standards before being distributed to local farmers in February of next year. This ensures that growers receive a physiologically sound, disease-free product primed for high performance.
Seosan’s production of the ‘Geumseon’ seed potato is a model of effective public agricultural development. It demonstrates a successful pipeline from national R&D to localized propagation and finally to farmer-ready product. For agronomists and farmers, the introduction of high-quality, dual-crop varieties like ‘Geumseon’ is critical for enhancing productivity per unit area, improving economic resilience through a more flexible growing season, and strengthening the entire local potato industry. It is a clear example of how strategic crop variety selection and professional seed systems form the foundation of a modern and sustainable agricultural sector.
