In case you’re wondering, to "chit" involves forcing your seed potatoes (small potato tubers, rather than actual seeds) to begin growing 1-2cm-long shoots, indoors. The value of UK potato products, both fresh and processed, is around £3 billion annually, with potato production worth more than £700 million in income to farmers. It is essential in producing seed potato to have no disease and Scotland’s leading position here is due to our relatively colder climate and clean soils. There are 250 registered UK seed potato growers, 80% of them in Scotland, but Scottish seed potatoes are now barred from export to their prime market, the EU. This includes a highly-destructive pest – the potato cyst nematode (PCN), a parasitic roundworm that feeds and reproduces on potato roots.

Source: The Herald April 06, 2023 18:32 UTC