By Ewan Pate, farming editor

A VERY significant contract was signed yesterday between leading potato packers, Taypack Potatoes Ltd and the Scottish Crop Research Institute.

This agreement, although it will initially run for five years, is very much seen as a long-term arrangement.

It will involve a programme of breeding top-quality potatoes for the fresh market.

The partners will be looking for factors such as taste, quality and appearance, which will be as important as the ability of the new varieties to grow in Scottish conditions.

Nigel Kerby, who is managing director of Mylnefield Research Services Ltd, the commercial arm of SCRI, described the new agreement as “a major technology transfer to a local company.”

It couldn’t be more local, with SCRI at Invergowrie and Taypack only a few miles away at Inchture.

It is certainly convenient, but there are much more significant features to this deal.

Taypack draws no less than 135,000 tonnes of potatoes into its modern packhouse from Scottish growers.

Their major customer is Asda, with 40% of its UK requirements coming from the Inchture site.

Taypack director George Taylor has clear ideas about the type of potato needed for this important market.

He said, “This breeding programme meets our long-term strategy of offering exclusivity on the next generation of high- quality fresh potatoes to our major customer.”

Pointing out that well-established traditional white-skinned varieties such as Maris Piper and King Edward can meet the all-important market requirements of flavour and skin finish, there is a need to move on and develop varieties which are more grower friendly.

This means disease resistance, especially to late blight, powdery scab and potato cyst nematode.

Varieties which are easier to grow and need fewer applications of chemicals are highly desirable in a world where environmental sustainability has become a priority.

Of course this plays to the strengths of the research base at Invergowrie.

As Mr Kerby commented, “This partnership will build on the key scientific strengths resident at SCRI and fulfils the SEERAD strategy of investing in research and development for sustainability.”

Certainly SCRI has the advantage of having a whole range of skills on hand in every field of plant science.

The breeders have one of the most extensive collections of wild and cultivated potatoes in the world to draw on.

They will be looking for natural resistance to pests and diseases which can be incorporated into their new selections.

Then, once the initial selections have been made, the all-important assessments for taste and consumer acceptability have to be made.

It is no easy task and can see thousands of prospective varieties discarded along the way.

However, it is a challenge relished by well-known potato breeder Finlay Dale, who will be part of the SCRI team.

“This exciting new programme allows us to utilise both the extensive resources and the breeding expertise at SCRI to the benefit of both a major local company and the UK potato industry as a whole,” he said.

It is a long process and the initial five years of the programme are unlikely to see more than commercial field trials of advanced selections.

When a promising variety does appear there is now the technology available, some of it on Tayside, to ensure that propagation is rapid, at least in plant breeding terms.

Within another two years there could be field production.

The vital test will be consumer acceptability, which is very much the concern of the multiple retailer.

As Chris Brown, agriculture strategy manager at ASDA, commented, “Customers buying potatoes are becoming increasingly sophisticated.

“They are looking for high-quality, great-tasting potatoes for a variety of different eating occasions.

“This project is a fantastic initiative that will help support our growers whilst ensuring we have the very best potatoes available for our customers.

“The investment going in will ensure an even better future for what is already a great Scottish industry.”

There were no figures available yesterday to quantify the scale of the new agreement, but George Taylor described it as “a significant financial investment made with Asda’s support.”

Potato breeding has always been a long-term venture.

When Mr Findlay at Auchtermuchty bred his long-lasting variety Majestic over a century ago it was an art form.

With all the facilities and scientific expertise which is available at SCRI the new partnership will be hoping for equal success but with much more predictability.