November/December 2021 - 31

From left, Pomerelle Russet, Labelle Russet and Galena Russet, all from the Tri-State Potato Research and Breeding Program. Photos: PVMI
Next cultivars up »
A look at some of what's coming down the pipeline
By Melanie Epp
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
W
hether it's to perfect shape and size, improve
storability or protect against disease, potato
breeders have their hands full meeting processor
and consumer demand. Five experts offer insight into their
needs, and talk about what's coming down the potato pipeline
in terms of new varieties - today, tomorrow and in the notso-far-off
future.
Different regions have different needs, which is why there
are breeding programs across the country. David Douches,
who leads the breeding program at Michigan State University,
deals mostly with chipping varieties. His breeding program
focuses on scab and PVY resistance for long-term storage.
" I feel like we've been making good progress in scab
resistance and the virus resistance, " said Douches, who
pointed to the program's most recent release, Mackinaw.
Mackinaw offers resistance to scab and PVY, and stores well
all the way into early July. Processors will like that the variety
is high in starch. The variety is currently being tested in field
trials across the country.
Douches said they're also trying to add the PVY-resistance
trait to other varieties.
Out east in New York, Walter de Jong heads the breeding
program at Cornell University, where he's also focused on
chipping varieties. The traits he's primarily concerned with are
shape and size. Industry stakeholders, he said, are looking for
smaller, rounder varieties with relatively high starch content
that give good fry color out of storage. Smaller sized potatoes
are a better fit for processors who wish to sell in smaller bags.
They also need some level of resistance to common scab.
Common scab causes pits in tubers, creating waste during
peeling. " It's expensive to control, " said De Jong. " Unless you
change soil pH, which causes all sorts of other problems. "
Breeding for resistance to common scab is not difficult.
" I guess the real challenge in potatoes tends to be getting
everything that growers want, which is impossible, so it's a
balancing act, " said De Jong.
A look at Mackinaw potatoes in storage. Mackinaw is a chipping
potato developed by Michigan State University's breeding program.
Photo: Michigan State University
The team at Cornell developed New York 163, a new
chipping variety that showed promise. Its fry color coming
out of storage was lighter than they'd ever seen. But some
unusual results surfaced during trials, though. The variety
had a propensity to develop blisters or bubbles during frying.
" The genetics of blistering are unknown, but some potatoes
are prone to it, " he said.
De Jong is waiting to see if those results reoccur in future
trials. Blistering is a trait they will be paying attention to in
the future.
Spudman * November/December 2021
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November/December 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of November/December 2021