Dr John Bradshaw, honorary fellow of SCRI, has been awarded the prestigious 2010 British Potato Industry Award in recognition of his outstanding contribution to potato research and knowledge transfer.

Presenting the award at the Potato Council’s Seed Industry Event in Crieff, Perthshire, Potato Council chairman Allan Stevenson paid tribute to Dr Bradshaw’s work on potato breeding and genetics, including breeding strategies and methods in addition to the genetics of quantitative traits such as field resistance to late blight.

“He has the talent of knowing how to build communications between potato breeders and scientists, ensuring complicated research knowledge is translated into straightforward and practical messages that are easy to understand and put into practice,” said Mr Stevenson.

“In addition, the two way communications he has built up have ensured that studies undertaken are relevant to the sector’s needs. The results of his research are invaluable and many of them have already been incorporated into commercial varieties.

“The results of his research are invaluable and many of them have already been incorporated into commercial varieties” – Allan Stevenson, Potato Council Chairman
“Furthermore, thanks to Dr Bradshaw, some costly and time-consuming field trials and disease assays in potato breeding should soon be replaced with simple, fast and accurate DNA assays,” commented Mr Stevenson.

Dr Bradshaw has dedicated the last twenty years to potato research, in addition to writing and editing books on the subject. His most recent book is Root and Tuber Crops in the Handbook of Plant Breeding series, published by Springer, in which he also co-authored the chapter on potatoes.