New Zealand potatoes attract industry attention

Potato eaters in New Zealand have eaten the nation’s number one cultivar bred by scientists at Plant & Food Research.

The organization says more moonlight potatoes are grown than any other potato in the country and about five million of them are eaten each year.

The smooth white-skinned, white-fleshed general purpose potato named after mountain runner Melissa Moon is a recent release from New Zealand’s sole commercial potato breeding program based at Plant & Food Research.

New Zealand’s potato science programs have attracted attention late last month as speakers gather to talk on the global potato industry’s future at the 7th World Potato Congress in Christchurch.

“We have scientists deciphering the DNA code of potatoes, developing improved crop management systems and breeding potatoes with elite characteristics,” says Plant & Food Research chief executive Peter Landon-Lane.

“We’re also gaining a better understanding of the nutritional benefits of potatoes and our food scientists are developing healthy convenient potato-based products.”

The organization says much of the research is in partnership with industry including Potatoes New Zealand, processors and food manufacturers and it receives funding from both the New Zealand government and from royalties from cultivar sales.