The Vales Sovereign potato bred at SCRI in collaboration with Greenvale AP has won Tesco’s 'Variety of the Year' in the Fresh Produce Category Awards 2008.

The Fresh Produce category includes all fruit and vegetables so the success of Vales Sovereign was a notable achievement according to Paul Coleman, technical director of Greenvale.

"We are delighted to win this award for Vales Sovereign," he said. "The variety has now firmly established itself within the Tesco offering."

Vales Sovereign was bred for both flavour and versatility and is a good 'all rounder'. Following highly successful trials in 2007 it had sales of 25,000 tonnes in 2008 which are projected to rise to 40,000 tonnes in 2009.

Announcing the award, Alex Dower, the Category Director for Tesco, commended both the sales performance and Greenvale's work in escalating the availability of Vales Sovereign. Growers have also embraced the new variety.

"Vales Sovereign resulted from our collaboration with the Scottish Crop Research Institute (SCRI)," continued Paul Coleman. "It has been well received by growers and consumers alike.

"The variety has proved to be a robust performer on unirrigated land and has a reduced requirement for nitrogen fertiliser, qualities which are hugely important for the environment and control of growing costs."

Vales Sovereign is currently available in 1kg and 2kg packs from Tesco stores nationwide.

Read more on the Greenvale AP website news page.

More information from:

Lorraine Wakefield, Information and Online Service Officer, SCRI, Invergowrie, Dundee, DD2 5DA. Tel: 01382 562731 (switchboard).