MD of Marshalls seeds has invited Mr Shaw (of SRT!) to buy “Super Blight Resistant Potato, Setanta”
Too bad that Setanta will die rapidly when Blue 13 blight strikes. Its foliage resistance is 4 (out of 9) and identical to susceptible Maris Piper. Yes, tuber resistance is good (9) but not much use if there is no foliage. Marshalls says Setanta “outstrips every Sarpo variety we’ve tasted” Maybe Marshalls do not like well flavoured, floury varieties and they cannot have tasted Sarpo Shona, Kifli or Blue Danube. Have a go, they taste great
http://moelfabansecretsupperclub.wordpress.com/2011/12/23/best-roast-potatoes-ever-sarpo-blue-danube/
Foliage blight resistance scores (British Potato Variety Database) have been revised to indicate resistance to the new commonest strain of P. infestans, Blue 13. Setanta scores 4 in recent trials but scored 8 (highly resistant) before Blue 13 was everywhere. Sarpo Mira now scores 8 (was 7) and Axona 7 (was 6). Note that scores can go up as well as down.
