Pollination process with potato flower, Edinburgh, Scotland

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 continue his researches with other experts like Dr. G. Cockerman and Dr T Mairi R. McGhee at the Scottish Plant Breeding Station at Coratorphine, 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. Searching for the Perfect Potato: flowers of wild potato plants are kept in bags to prevent pollination from wind blown or insect pollination when breeding for pure seedlings

Restrictions Only for United Kingdom

Able Affect Ailments Bags Blight Blights Blown Boghall Bounty Bred Breeders Breeding Chinchilla Cockerman Continue Demissum Discovered Diseases Dreaded Experiments Experts Flawless Grafts Immune Immunise Kept Leads Mairi Mcghee Plots Pollination Potato Potatoes Prevent Pure Researches Resisting Searching Seed Seedlings Solanum Submit Tested Tubers Varieties Warts

Features In These Collections

> Contributors > KEY