David Rodgers, growing potatoes in normally lush and fertile North Co Dublin says the unprecedented conditions over recent weeks – from an exceptionally cold spring to a record-breaking hot summer – have forced his potato plants into “shutting down”.

The Irish Potato Federation – with the support of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Bord Bia, Failte Ireland and Teagasc – has won its bid to host the World Potato Congress (WPC) in 2021 in Dublin.

Researchers in the United Kingdom aim for a new commercial potato that resists many of the worst vulnerabilities of potato crops around the world.

Esta papa (o patata) es el objetivo de un proyecto lanzado oficialmente esta semana por Jonathan Jones, uno de los más reconocidos expertos del mundo en la genética de enfermedades vegetales.

Irish Research Institute Teagasc hopes to begin planting out more than 5,000 potato plants in the next two weeks, in the second phase of its study into the environmental impact of blight-resistant genetically modified (GM) potatoes.

Moves will be made in the High Court today to launch a legal challenge to a decision by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to allow trials on a genetically modified (GM) potato to be carried out.

Potato growers could achieve potential savings of more than €450/ha if they used a blight-resistant genetically modified (GM) potato variety instead of a conventional variety.

Top names from the food, restaurant, and tourism sectors have sharply criticised the Environmental Protection Agency for potentially destroying Ireland’s 'clean, green'agricultural image by allowing GM potatoes to be grown in Ireland.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has today given consent to Teagasc, Oak Park, Co Carlow, to carry out field trials on a genetically modified (GM) potato line with improved resistance to late potato blight.