Contest to turn humble spud into a golden wonder

 Competition:€8,000 in prizes for schools that grow biggest potatoes

Primary school pupils can turn spuds into gold in a national competition with an €8,000 prize fund.

The challenge is to see what school can grow the biggest potato in a set period of time.

Agri Aware, the farming and food education body, yesterday took advantage of Science Week to provide details of its "Meet the Spud - national potato growing competition".

It takes place during 2008, the United Nations-designated "international year of the potato", said Agri Aware's Connor Keppel.

The competition is organised by Agri Aware, the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the International Year of the Potato national committee. It gets under way in February and the growing period runs through mid-June.

"We are asking the teachers and pupils to grow their own potatoes and do a week-by-week observation of the plants," Mr Keppel said.

Every primary school in the State will be sent a growing kit including seed potatoes, compost and pots and printed material including simple instructions, a wall poster and teaching materials for the teachers.

The spuds can be grown indoors or may be planted outside if the school has a garden.

"It is going to be very, very simple for them.

"They will get step-by-step instructions on how to grow and measure the potatoes," he explained.

At the end of the growing period the tubers will be lifted, washed, measured and weighed. This information, along with a picture of the star spud, will be sent for adjudication by the organisers.

"We will pick eight winners from around the country and they will get €1,000 each either to start a school garden or further develop a garden they already have," Mr Keppel said.

All schools will receive seed potatoes of the "Colleen" variety, a white potato form.

"The kit will have information about the different potato varieties and information on the history of the potato, its role in Irish culture and the best way to use them, for example as chips."

Teachers are expected to receive notification of the competition in late January.