An “environmentally sound” potato which needs less water and fertilizer than other varieties was launched this week in Great Britain, The Press Association of Scotland reports. The new potato variety, the Vales Sovereign, was developed by the Scottish Crop Research Institute (SCRI) in Dundee.
The oval-shaped potato, which hit the supermarket shelves at Tesco stores across Britain on Monday is reportedly resistant to high levels of disease and is cheap and easy to grow. The supermarket’s potato buyer, Jonathan Corbett, said: “Brits love their spuds and we want to bring exciting new varieties to our shops.”
“This potato is a milestone in farming history as it will allow growers a large yield for a relatively small outlay while being environmentally sound,” Corbett added. “It is also a real coup for Scotland where it was bred and may one day go down in agricultural history.”