Scientists herald monster spud

31 July 1997

Scientists herald monster spud

POPULAR science weekly New Scientist reports that genetic engineers in Germany have created a super-spud big enough to feed a family, says the daily press.

It weighs in at 2kg (4.41bs), according to the Financial Times. The Daily Telegraph put it at 3.2kg (71bs)
and The Times said the largest was 2.09kg (4.61bs). That is three times the weight of the normal Desiree potato on which the German team worked.

The British Potato Council warned chips from such a spud would soak up fat and be more greasy.

Lothar Wilmitzer, of the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Plant Physiology, in Golm, also found that the genetic manipulation produced higher yields.