Seed and Industrial Potato Harvest Underway in the Konya Plain
The potato harvest is in full swing across the Konya Plain in Turkey, with crews working from dawn until dusk: mechanized digging is followed immediately by manual sorting and loading.
The work is being carried out by Gözde Zirai Ürünler Paketleme Nak. ve Gıda San. Tic. Ltd. Şti., a Nevşehir-based seed-potato company that has partnered for years with the Dutch breeder HZPC. Through that partnership, Gözde Zirai has registered seven Dutch-bred varieties in Turkey since 2021, according to the country’s variety registration reports (Bitki Çeşitleri Tescil Raporları): Ayaz and Gioconda in 2021, Alverstone Russet in 2022, Camelia, Cardyma and Rashida in 2023, and Norman in 2025. The lineup covers processing types for chips and French fries — Ayaz, Alverstone Russet, Cardyma and Norman — alongside table varieties Camelia and Gioconda, with trials conducted across five provinces: Konya, Nevşehir, Niğde, Sivas and Kayseri.
In the field, two tractors fitted with trailed two-row diggers move in tandem along neighboring rows, turning the tubers to the surface. Behind them, workers pick through the soil by hand, sorting the crop into bags and crates for onward transport by truck.
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The tubers themselves — oval, light-yellow-skinned and uniform in size — match the visual profile of the HZPC-bred lines that Gözde Zirai has brought to the Turkish market.
Konya is one of the country’s principal potato-growing areas. The local season typically opens in mid-August and runs into late autumn, contributing heavily to Turkey’s combined seed and table/processing output.
Photos courtesy of Gözde Zirai.
