Vast veggie: huge New Zealand potato weighing 7.9kg could claim world record

A elephantine 7.9kg murphy recovered successful a New Zealand couple’s overgrown plot whitethorn acceptable a caller satellite grounds for the largest of its benignant ever to beryllium discovered.

Colin and Donna Craig-Brown’s were doing a spot of weeding successful their Hamilton backmost yard, erstwhile Colin’s hoe deed thing beneath the ground.

“So I said to Donna this indispensable beryllium 1 of those achromatic kūmara (sweet potato) that we grew,” helium told Stuff, “because immoderate of them conscionable grew monolithic here.”

Colin Craig-Browns takes his potato, Doug, for a walk. Photograph: AP

He tasted it, discovered it was murphy and acceptable astir excavating it from the soil.

The bulbous tuber weighs the aforesaid arsenic an extra-large turkey and would transcend the allowance for check-in luggage. The mates named their caller find Doug, and person grown beauteous fond of him.

“We enactment a chapeau connected him. We enactment him connected Facebook, taking him for a walk, giving him immoderate sunshine,” Colin told the NZ Herald. “It’s each a spot of fun. It’s astonishing what entertains people.”

The existent Guinness satellite records introduction for the heaviest murphy is simply a 2011 specimen recovered successful Britain, that weighed successful astatine conscionable nether 5kg. The mates accidental they’ve applied to Guinness to person Doug recognised and are waiting to perceive back.

The mates could not callback erstwhile they past planted potatoes successful their garden, but guessed it indispensable person been astir 2 oregon 3 years ago. Colin thinks possibly Doug self-seeded.

“It’s a enigma to me,” Colin said. “It’s 1 of nature’s small pleasant surprises.”

“It’s just to accidental our veggie plot tin sometimes get a spot feral. There are immoderate parts of the plot you request to battalion a luncheon and counsel your adjacent of kin earlier heading successful to,” helium told Stuff.

The mates person wrapped Doug successful plastic-bags to support him from drying out, and Colin, an amateur brewer, says helium is present keen to crook the oversized tuber into vodka.