Potato Breeding
Access to improved potato cultivars with resistance to pests and diseases and superior quality attributes is an essential element in the continued development of a thriving and sustainable UK potato breeding industry. The aim of potato breeding research at JHI is the continued development of scientific breeding methods.
Access to extensive parental stocks and unique potato germplasm within the Commonwealth Potato Collection coupled to research into selection procedures and new improved progeny testing methods has had a dramatic effect on both the quality and the effectiveness of the potato breeding programmes at JHI. New cultivars with improved disease resistance, quality attributes and yield are released from JHI research programmes through commercial companies - primarily Greenvale AP plc.
In addition, through its commercial arm, Mylnefield Research Services Ltd (MRS), JHI undertakes targeted breeding programmes for other companies within the UK and abroad.
Commonwealth Potato Collection
The collection comprises around 1500 accessions of about 80 wild and cultivated potato species. Each accession traces back to a handful of berries or tubers from potato plants in South or Central America, gathered from the wild or obtained from a grower at a market.
Such genetic resources are priceless, comprising the basic resource for the improvement and adaptation of the world's fourth most important food crop, the potato. The genetic material in the collection has made a major contribution to the potato crop worldwide, and continues to do so today. To find out more about the CPC follow this link
Dr Finlay Dale
Dr Finlay Dale is the senior potato breeder at MRS with more than 32 years experience, first at Pentland Field, and then since 1992 based at JHI in Dundee. As well as managing eight successful potato breeding programmes he also maintains an active research programme with a particular focus on tobacco rattle virus, quality issues such as acrylamide and evaluating new sources of resistance to potato cyst nematodes.
Together with Dr Glenn Bryan of JHI he is pioneering the the application of association mapping and genomic sequencing to potato breeding. He has more than 60 academic publications related to potatoes and is a regular contributor to international conferences and industry events. He has been instrumental in the development and subsequent commercialisation of several phureja varieties.
His most recent success is the variety Vales Sovereign which was voted Tesco's best new fresh produce variety in 2009. In his spare time Finlay enjoys mountain biking, hill walking and falling off ladders. He has raised large sums of money for Water Aid and other charities and obtained notoriety in the 1970s for his now sadly departed moustache.
Vanessa Young
Vanessa graduated in 1996 from the University of Abertay, Dundee with a BSc Honours degree in Environmental Biotechnology. Since graduating, she has gained 13 years experience working for MRS & JHI on various projects, particularly working on the molecular diagnostics of soft fruit and potato pathogens, including potato blight and raspberry root rot. In September 2009 she took on a new post with MRS as a trainee potato breeder/field geneticist, undertaking a part-time PhD looking into the application of marker assisted selection in potato breeding.
Stuart Wale
Dr Stuart Wale joined the MRS potato breeding team in February 2011 following nearly 33 years experience in potato pathology and agronomy.
Stuart has carried out consultancy with individual potato growers, grower groups, most major companies in the UK potato industry and abroad (including Australia, Japan, Poland, USA). He has managed many small and large (multi-institute) R&D programmes, mainly in the field of potato pathology.
He has been awarded several prizes including the Hardie Memorial prize (2002) presented by the VTSC Association and the Haig Trophy (2005) awarded by the National Association of Seed Potato Merchants for services to the potato seed industry, PCL Potato Industry Award 2008 and the Royal Northern Agricultural Society/Press & Journal Award (2008) for Public Service.
Stuart has published a book and over 90 refereed and conference papers. Stuart was a President of the British Society for Plant Pathology 2004, President and Vice President of the European Foundation for Plant Pathology 2004-2007Chairman of Scottish Society for Crop Research 2006-10 (Now Trustee), Chairman of Association for Crop Protection in Northern Britain 2006-2010.
