Aardappelketen uit Ierland

Irish potatoes are being exported for the first time in decades following a bumper harvest here and poor growing conditions over most of Europe, the Teagasc National Potato seminar in Carlow heard yesterday.

Potato growers are fervently hoping for some rain to bulk up the main harvest.

Irish Scientists have warned potato farmers to be on alert for a new aggressive strain of potato blight called “Pink 6”.Stephen Kildea of Teagasc, the agriculture and food development authority, said the new strain could not be properly controlled by s...

A compensation package was tonight revealed for farmers whose crops were damaged during the cold snap.Agriculture Minister Brendan Smith said potato and vegetable growers who suffered significant losses because of frost in January could recoup some fu...

Irish potato farmers are facing ruin because of the freezing conditions which have followed the heavy rain in November, the Irish Farmers’ Association has claimed.The IFA estimates that 20 per cent of last year’s potato crop will not be recovered, lead...

Controlling blight is of paramount importance to all potato growers, whether big or small. Research over the past two years by Dr Stephen Kildea and others in Teagasc Oak Park has shown the type of blight Ireland is getting now is changing compared t...

What sort of bounty could possibly lie in piles of discarded potato peelings?“We have been interested in by-products for quite a while now,” says Dr Nigel Brunton, a senior research officer with Teagasc who works with phytochemicals derived from plants...

Tesco last night insisted it was the world's "biggest supporter"of Irish food and drink producers after a group of farmers stormed a meeting of the supermarket chain's top managers yesterday.Around 30 potato growers burst into a meeting at a ...

Peter Keogh &Sons, the potato-growing and packing company owned by the north County Dublin Keogh family, has launched a selenium-enriched Rooster potato called Selena, which is currently available exclusively in Superquinn stores in Ireland.The Sel...

A genetically modified variety of spud may have to be produced in Irish laboratories because of the growing threat from blight. The fungal disease that wiped out the potato crop in the mid-19th century, causing more than 1m deaths, is posing a renewed ...

Potato growers can only watch as some of their crops rot in the ground after being submerged in water. Crops grown on riverbanks and in low-lying fields have been worst hit by the recent monsoon-like conditions. Foliage on some crops has started to yel...

A Dublin family that has been growing vegetables for 200 years is bringing blue potatoes to the Irish market, to coincide with the international year of the potato.Peter Keogh &Sons, has launched the heritage ‘blue’ potatoes, from its farm in Oldt...

A campaign to raise awareness about the humble spud couldn't have come at a better time for Ireland's beleaguered potato growers. A total of €300,000 has been invested in a national campaign by the Department of Agriculture, Bord Bia, Agri Award, Tea...

A potato described as the healthiest variety for roasting is launching in Sainsbury stores in the UK today.Called the Phureja, it has golden-coloured flesh and a slightly sweet taste.Sainsbury’s, which will sell the spud, said it is the healthiest pota...