News on The Potato Supply Chain from United Kingdom

In yesterday's Potato Weekly the Potato Council describes the lifting procgress of the 2012 potato crop: the potato harvest in the United Kingdom is still three weeks behind last season.

Albert Bartlett Rooster Potatoes has signed up another ex-Desperate Housewives star as the face of the brand, with Jesse Metcalfe featuring in the new ad. Metcalfe, currently starring in Dallas as Christopher Ewing, is seen ‘raising the temperature of...

Manufacturers of potato products are being hit by a “double whammy” because of the most difficult crop in living memory. Heavy rain delayed planting and is now frustrating harvesting plans.

En el marco del 8o World Potato Congress, WPC 2012, que tuvo lugar en Edinburgo 27 a 30 de mayo 2012, una de las intervenciones fue la de Angus Armstrong, Ejecutivo en Jefe de la firma Greenvale, especialista en patata en fresco y procesada en el merca...

Planting green manure cover crops over the winter, prior to potato cropping, could save growers significant costs with reduced fertiliser inputs and enhanced organic matter to improve soil quality.

“The combination of low yielding potato crops, increased crop spraying costs and increased wastage from problems such as greening, soft rots and growth cracks has massively increased the average cost of producing a tonne of potatoes in 2012 to over £20...

No sooner does the risk of importing exotic diseases such as dickeya in seed potatoes appear to be receding than another potential source of harm to the health of the UK crop has reared its head.

Greenvale AP, the UK’s leading supplier of fresh potatoes, has once again proved it is blazing a trail in reducing water consumption in the fresh produce world, scooping a UK Water Efficiency Award 2012 in the Business and Industry category.

Produce Investments plc (PI), owners of Greenvale AP Ltd, one of the UK’s largest fresh potato companies, has acquired 100% of the share capital of Rowe Farming Ltd, a specialist new and salad potato and daffodil growing business based in Cornwall.

The Potato Council Grower Panel Lifting Survey estimates that 39,000ha (32% of the total crop and just under 7,000ha greater than last week's estimate) was cleared to Friday 28 September, with the GB harvest running approximately three weeks behind las...

While recent rain should help boost protective soil intake by harvesters, the risk of potato bruising remains high, potato agronomists and machinery makers are warning.

Plant breeding business KWS marked its formal entry into potato breeding in the UK last week, with a demonstration of up-and-coming varieties and an outline of its key breeding objectives for the potato crop.

The UK seed potato industry is on a high as Potato Council has announced another record year for seed exports, with this year’s figures surpassing 103,000 tonnes. “This year, despite the testing conditions experienced by growers, we have achieved ano...

Researchers led by Professor Bruce Fitt, now at the University of Hertfordshire, have used modern DNA techniques on late nineteenth-century potatoes to show how the potato blight may have survived between cropping seasons after the Irish potato famine ...

Physiological ageing of Markies potato seed can deliver benefits in terms of crop development, yield, quality and storage potential in the north of England. That was the message from McCain commercial agronomist Rob Blades to potato growers attending ...

A "perfect storm"of misery is hitting the potato sector as lifting slips further behind and prices fail to offset poor yields and quality and rising production costs. Crop clearance is more than three weeks behind schedule, with just 24,000h...

Herbert Engineering is set to launch a optical sorting machine at Potato Europe. The Oculus is the next generation in high performance, compact, optical sorting for washed potatoes.

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.