Dr William Black's potato research in Edinburgh, Scotland

Feb. 28 Searching for the perfect Potato: Three potatoes which will go under the binocular microscope for examination, the results of which will be of great use to growers. They are (L-R) tuber of a commercial variety, tuber of a seedling, and tuber from a wild species which is an ancestor of the commercial variety. 15 years of research for the Perfect Potato: Scotland still leads the world in potato breeding. It was Dr. William Black of Boghall Farm near Edinburgh, Scotland, who discovered the world's best and flawless potato in 1946 after working on it for 20 years and called it the Craig's Bounty'. Research still goes on to counter Stunt Diseases in potatoes and the various odd ailments that affect it. Dr. Black continues his researches with other experts like Dr. G. Cockerman and Dr T. Mairi R. McGhee at the Scottish Plant Breeding Station at Corstorphine, Edinburgh, in the hope they will be able to immunise all types of potato plants and tubers from the dreaded warts and blights. Experiments are being made with grafts on the Solanum Demissum, a wild Mexican species which is immune from blight and is used for breeding blight resisting potatoes. A special type of Chinchilla rabbit is bred to help researches. Over 2, 000 varieties of potatoes including many types grown in other parts of the world are grown and tested in field plots, and if they are found to be up to a given standard the breeders submit their seedlings to the Department of Agriculture and Seed Testing Station next door to their own headquarters

Restrictions Only for United Kingdom

Able Affect Ailments Ancestor Binocular Blight Blights Boghall Bounty Bred Breeders Breeding Chinchilla Cockerman Continues Corstorphine Demissum Discovered Diseases Dreaded Examination Experiments Experts Flawless Grafts Growers Immune Immunise Leads Mairi Mcghee Microscope Plots Potato Potatoes Researches Resisting Results Searching Seed Seedling Seedlings Solanum Submit Tested Tuber Tubers Varieties Warts

Features In These Collections

> Contributors > KEY