Author Topic: Potentially good news  (Read 3052 times)

Tee Gee

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Potentially good news
« on: November 04, 2019, 22:24:59 »

ancellsfarmer

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Re: Potentially good news
« Reply #1 on: November 05, 2019, 06:40:02 »
Better add a sieve to the equipment store!
Freelance cultivator qualified within the University of Life.

saddad

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Re: Potentially good news
« Reply #2 on: November 05, 2019, 07:54:57 »
Slow news day then... but seriously any non GM breeding programme that improves blight resistance gets my vote..

Jayb

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Re: Potentially good news
« Reply #3 on: November 05, 2019, 09:08:21 »
Mine too!
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lezelle

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Re: Potentially good news
« Reply #4 on: November 05, 2019, 10:47:53 »
Hi ya, I'm up for it provided they don't put the prices sky high. We suffered with blight this year very badly, 1st time in 20 years, I was growing Maris Bard, Sarpo Mira and King Edward. I don't  usually bother with main crop but gave it a go this year. The blight showed and I cut the tops down and seven the Sarpo didn't last to long. I was late lifting my earlies but they seemed to taste better for being left longer. I usually buy main crop as the supermarkets sell them cheaper than the farms and I don't have the hassle. I would give this new one a go and always look for Scottish seed as advised. Will keep my eyes and ears open and see what comes. How long before they are on general release if indeed they do to the general public. MMMMMM tatties and neeps with a haggis and onion gravy, bring it on. :wave:

galina

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Re: Potentially good news
« Reply #5 on: November 06, 2019, 10:23:48 »
Quite a confusing article.  Is this a genetically modified potato or has there been a natural wide cross between the different potato species?

It matters.  Whilst the referenced article specially mentions GM potatoes and then goes on to say there is no danger of any further spreading because they are solely propagated from tubers, the photo shows a really nice display of blue flowers, from which potato fruits are quite likely.  These of course have seeds a bit like tomato seeds. 

Unfortunately not a single reference to the Welsh Sarpo breeding range that has given us a lot of blight resistance and also Dutch potato breeding to get blight resistant potatoes that were bred the traditional way, not by gene splicing. 

I am a little wary of articles who state that traditional potato breeding takes too long and is too laborious, so we need the gene splicing short cut.  I would need to know a lot more, before I would grow these.

The last problem is the ever evolving nature of blight spores.  What is blight proof one year may well be affected in the near future.  So these GM potatoes (if this is what they are, the article is very vague) may well be a short term solution at best but act as a general door opener to widespread GM cultivation in the UK  There have been so many campaigns against GM food in UK that have largely been won by the groups rejecting GM based on the negative experiences in the USA.  I would be wary of this "foot in the door" and stick with safe conventional breeding like the Sarpo varieties and other traditional breeding efforts, like the Dutch Carolus potato and others.   After all the resistances in other crops that were introduced by gene splicing are often not long lived or even harmful. 

With potatoes bred traditionally, as those of us who grow from TPS (true potato seeds) know, it is actually a very short process to get a new variety.  Second year after growing from seed, the new variety is ready,  all that is needed is selection from the widely differing plants of "new" varieties from the TPS seeds.   And if these potatoes were gene spliced initially, they also need a selection process, identical to the selection from TPS.  So the reference to long and laborious traditional breeding is a questionable statement. 

:wave: 
« Last Edit: November 06, 2019, 10:44:33 by galina »

 

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