News on Potato Varieties and Seed from United Kingdom

Building on the growing success of its collaboration over the past two years, Potato Council and Horticultural Development Company (HDC) brought the largest collaborative UK stand yet to this year’s Fruit Logistica event in Berlin.

Cuban visitors were given a focused tour encompassing Scottish Government’s SASA’s plant health facilities, a seed potato micro-propagation facility, and visited a leading Scottish seed grower and exporter.

As Potato Council and the GB seed potato sector prepare for next months’ Potato Europe event in Germany, recent export statistics confirm that GB seed potatoes continue to be in demand around the world, with the 2013/14 figures revealing a new seed exports record from Britain.

Potato Council, Horticultural Development Company (HDC) and the Commercial Horticultural Association (CHA) returned in force to the Fruit Logistica to build their promotion of seed potatoes from Britain and raise the profile of the diversity and quality of UK horticultural crops.

Following the successful first-time collaboration by the British potato and horticulture sector at Fruit Logistica 2013, Potato Council, Horticultural Development Company (HDC) and the Commercial Horticultural Association (CHA) return with their industries to this massive event in February 2014.

The Irish Lumper potato has been cultivated once more by County Antrim farmer Michael McKillop who has a keen interest in history.

The days of a few big varieties dominating the potato market are over, with breeding programmes becoming more focused on delivering sustainable varieties for specific markets.

Growers could start seeing the benefits of the potato genome being sequenced within the next decade, with varieties bringing new traits such as PCN resistance or improved tuber shape.

Greenvale AP, the UK’s leading supplier of potatoes, is aiming to inject fresh interest into the produce sector with the launch of its first branded product. GreenVale Farm Fresh potatoes are being sold in 2kg eye-catching blue and green paper bags.

Scottish seed producers will soon be able to view seed certification data in real time from 2012, thanks to the latest online roll out of Scotland’s certification scheme. At the event, Dr John Kerr of Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture (SASA...

Fenmarc’s campaign for its exclusively grown variety Rudolph has been recognised by the Grower of the Year awards.

For the first time, leading potato supplier Greenvale AP is making a limited amount of its seed potato variety, the Vales Sovereign, available on the open market to Scottish potato farmers. 

The UK’s leading potato supplier Greenvale AP is working with Tesco to help British consumers serve up the best roast potatoes ever – and like all good things at Christmas they come in a box! The Mayan Gold potato box is available exclusively at Tes...

Two Potato companies - Taylor Food Group and QV Foods - have signed a five year deal with the James Hutton Institute's Mylnefield Research Service (MRS) subsidiary to continue a potato breeding programme that originally started in 2005. Taylor Food Gr...

The Potato Council has produced provisional estimates of planted area for the top ten varieties grown in Great Britain. These varieties account for approximately 55% of total GB plantings. Areas in hectares of top ten potato varieties in GB in 2011...

Dozens of campaigners against genetically modified food have staged a protest in Norwich city centre. Passers-by were offered chips made from non-genetically modified potatoes before the protest moved on to the John Innes Institute on the outskirts of...

Una nueva variedad de patata con pulpa de color púrpura oscuro salió a la venta hoy en los supermercados de la cadena británica Sainsbury's, informó la propia empresa en un comunicado. “La variedad ‘Majestad Púrpura’ está ideada para cambiar la percep...

A purple potato that growers say is healthier than the standard variety is going on sale in UK supermarkets.