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Potato hub plans to fast track research

DISCUSSION: Research was a hot topic at Potatoes in Practice.
DISCUSSION: Research was a hot topic at Potatoes in Practice.

An international centre of excellence for potato research could be based at Invergowrie if plans by the James Hutton Institute (JHI) come to fruition.

JHI’s Executive Director of Science, Lesley Torrance, revealed the ambition for a Potato Innovation and Translation Hub during the industry’s flagship Potatoes in Practice event at Balruddery Farm.

The announcement comes hard on the heels of JHI’s success in securing £62 million of funding for the International Barley Hub and Advanced Plant Growth Centre, and the timing means it is poised to capitalise on new research opportunities in the wake of growers’ rejection of the AHDB levy.

Prof Torrance said the centre was envisioned as a collaborative partnership of researchers and commercial companies and would act as a hub for research and its translation into solutions for the potato industry.

“We urgently need to grow varieties adapted to the changing climate and with reduced inputs for sustainable and resilient production systems,” she said.

“To do this, recent advances in breeding technologies can be harnessed to fast track the breeding of new varieties; new developments in modelling, sensors and drone technologies are driving integrated pest management solutions.”

Prof Torrance said JHI typically received around £250,000 per annum from AHDB for potato research, and said the institute would be “remiss” if it didn’t look for ways of recouping the money and finding new opportunities.

Potatoes in Practice at Balruddery Farm
Potatoes in Practice at Balruddery Farm

JHI has already responded to the demise of AHDB Potatoes by linking with ADAS to establish Crop Storage Solutions to ensure the future of GB potato storage research, and the innovation initiative, scottishpotatoes.org was established in 2019 alongside  Scotland’s Rural College(SRUC) and SASA .

Prof Torrance said: “It now seems a natural progression to go further and explore the potential to establish a potato innovation and translation hub given the wider industry needs. By working together, we can harness new technologies, ideas and opportunities to create and deliver solutions.”

Potatoes in Practice at Balruddery Farm
Potatoes in Practice at Balruddery Farm

Although the hub would be a collaboration with other centres, a key aim is to build a new store for the Commonwealth Potato Collection which JHI houses in greenhouses at Invergowrie.

It is recognised as one of the best collections in the world and is a huge genetic resource which scientists believe could provide the answers to some of the industry’s most pressing problems.

“We could exploit the collection more if we had better facilities,” Prof Torrance said.