Two leading lights in the world of high grade potato seed production were recognised by awards at last week’s Potato Council dinner in Harrogate.
Dr Jack Dunnett MBE, well recognised as one of the founders of modern potato breeding, was awarded the British Potato Industry Award, which annually recognises outstanding individual contributions to the potato industry.
Potato Council chief executive Rob Clayton said Dr Dunnett was considered to be one of the most exceptional British potato breeders in nearly six decades.
From his early career, assisting Dr William Black at Pentlandfield, near Edinburgh, Dr Dunnett eventually led the breeding programme, resulting in some of the famous Pentland varieties.
In 1976, after 23 years at Pentlandfield, he decided to go it alone, returning to his home county of Caithness, where he established Caithness Potato Breeders Ltd with Marcel Guindi.
He went on to found Caithness Potatoes Ltd with three well-known Perthshire seed growing families, the Doigs, Smillies and Haggarts.
Jack’s first major success came with the variety Nadine in the UK which, at its peak, was the fifth most widely-grown variety in the UK and is still the dominant variety in Australia and New Zealand.
His efforts to compete with the Dutch variety Desiree for seed exports to North Africa led to his variety Stemster being grown successfully in France for this purpose.
Further successes came with Osprey and Harmony, which made significant contributions to the UK packing industry.
Winston and Valor are grown widely for seed used largely for export to the Middle East and Dr Dunnett’s varieties have helped develop potato markets as far as Australasia, South Africa and North America.
His variety Kestrel has the standing of a heritage variety with potato enthusiasts.
In his book A Scottish Potato Breeder’s Harvest, drawing together nearly 50 years of experience, Jack demolished the widely-held theory potato breeders had lagged behind cereals breeders who had brought about a so-called “green revolution”.
In fact, cereals breeders were catching up, rather than racing ahead, he argued.
Dr Dunnett was unable to be present at the dinner in Harrogate but his close industry colleague Robert Doig accepted the award on his behalf.
The second award of the evening was presented by Graeme Currie, high grade seed manager with Agrico at Castleton of Eassie, Forfar and chairman of the Pre Basic Growers’ Association.
The winner of this year’s Dr James Hardy Memorial award was Black Isle pre basic seed multiplier Hamish Cameron from Balnakyle and Drumderfit farms at Munlochy.
Dr Hardy was for many years head of what was the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland Potato Section at East Craigs, Edinburgh.
He was responsible for developing the stem-cutting propagation technique which underpins the production of early generation seed production.