News on Research from United Kingdom

With dry weather exacerbating the risk of bruising potatoes at harvest, Potato Council has called on growers to take a proactive stance and make quality assessments at all stages of harvesting, from lifting to store loading.

A seven-day celebration of the humble spud has been held to recognise one of the world’s most versatile ingredients that has had a presence on our dinner plates for more than 450 years. Hosted by the Potato Council, the first ever Potato Week builds o...

UK food and non-alcoholic drink exports grew to £5.8bn in the first half of 2011 – a rise of over 13% on the same period in 2010, as revealed by figures released by the Food and Drink Federation (FDF). Exports to the EU increased by 12.6% to £4.4bn wi...

Record numbers are expected at the potato industry’s event of the year, BP2011, which will be held at Harrogate in November. Entry will be free of charge and amateur growers can attend, although the event is not designed for them. Students thinking o...

Top potato researchers from Britain and The Netherlands have joined the speaker panel at the World Potato Congress (WPC 2012) due to take place in Edinburgh, Scotland, May 27-30. Exploiting the potato genome and how new-found knowledge will ultimatel...

Irrigate with the right amount of water, at the right time, in the right place, growers were urged by Dr Jerry Knox at the well-attended Potato Council East of England day (September 1, Tuddenham, Bury St Edmunds). Improved water efficiency may not ne...

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...

Potato Council is introducing a wide range of potato related resources into secondary schools as part of the national curriculum after successfully piloting a new classroom project;‘Cook Your Own Potatoes’.  Following on from the increasingly popular ...

International seed breeders and exporters sharing the Potato Council stand enjoyed a very busy time at this year’s Potato Europe (Tournai, Belgium, September 7-8). “The record-breaking 2011 seed potato export season reflects our success in this secto...

Potato Week 2011 is kicking off next month (1-7 October) and is offering chefs and caterers the chance to take part in the event. Simon Bull, marketing manager for Potato Council, believes potatoes are a versatile product and are a great ingredient fo...

The rising cost of irrigation was one of the topics discussed at the East of England Potato Day in Suffolk last week. The cost of applying water to potato crops is rising fast and has doubled since 2005, according to Jerry Knox of Cranfield University...

Potato prices in the United Kingdom have dropped again, with available supplies exceeding demand due to the early harvest. The Potato Council's weekly average price fell by 12% in the week to 19 August, to £120.65/t - £50/t below the same time last y...

Matthew Smallwood has been appointed as SAC’s Senior Potato Consultant and will be based at SAC’s Perth Office. Matt will work closely with Dr Stuart Wale, who continues to work for SAC on a reduced-days basis. He will co-ordinate activity with the oth...

Pushing the boundaries is critical to success, according to McCain Foods regional CEO Nick Vermont. Speaking at the East Midlands Potato Day held at QV Foods, Holbeach Hurn, Lincolnshire, (July 5) he spoke of McCain Foods’ objective of innovation to m...

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...

Britse aardappeltelers hadden tot eind vorige week 8.324 hectare gerooid. Dat bracht in totaal 290.399 ton op, wat een gemiddelde opbrengst van 34,9 ton per hectare betekent. Die opbrengst ligt daarmee al meer dan 5 ton per hectare hoger dan vorig jaar...

Door de gunstige weersomstandigheden van de afgelopen weken ligt de opbrengst bij de Britse aardappeloogst een stuk boven het peil van vorig jaar. Tot nu toe ligt het gemiddelde rendement op 28 ton per hectare vergeleken bij 21,5 ton per hectare vorig...

Scientists are waiting for blight to test disease resistance at the half-way stage of a three-year GM potato trial on Norwich Research Park. In February last year, scientists at the John Innes Centres Sainsbury Laboratory applied for formal permission...