COMMERCIAL VARIETY TRIALS

AROOSTOOK FARM

2006

 

 

 

All varieties were planted at an 8” spacing and fertilized with 1100 lbs. of 14-14-14-1.2

 

 

      2005—Out of Storage Observations: 

 

 

1.   AF1808-18 (russet) (0.6 acre)

      Planting date: 5/19/2005

      First vine kill: 8/24/2005

      Harvest date: 9/27/2005

    This variety stored well as a seed lot at 38°F in 5 1/2-20cwt. pallet boxes and did not     sprout prematurely by mid-April. As with earlier experiments with this variety, it produced large, somewhat uniform attractive tubers with a thick russet type skin. Problems with this variety this year was a high incidence of sunburn. There was an absence of fusarium rot, soft rot, scab, hollow heart, mechanical bruise and pressure bruise. There was some mis-shape observed, but not an excessive amount.

This variety again developed marketable sized tubers in a shorter amount of time than any other variety evaluated. Tuber size was produced about 12 days ahead of Shepody. Yield was 167 cwt. per acre, with a total yield of 106 cwt. It was decided to not plant this lot due to inherent problems with the variety such as yield and sunburn, and the lot was disposed of at a dehydration plant.

 

 

2.  AF2133-17 (table russet) (0.4 acre)

     Planting date: 5/19/2005

     First vine kill: 8/24/2005

     Harvest date: 9/27/2005

   This variety stored well as a seed lot at 38°F in 4 1/4- 20 cwt. pallet boxes. There was some sprouting of tubers when they were handled in late April. Sunburn was moderately severe in this variety this year. There was an absence of fusarium rot, soft rot, hollow heart, mis-shape, mechanical bruise and pressure bruise in this lot. Tuber eyes were as shallow as AF1808-18, but type was much more desirable (brick-shaped) than either Reeve’s Kingpin(AF1753-16) or AF1808-18. Yield was 213 cwt. per acre, with a total yield of 85 cwt. This variety was initially intended for table stock use. Due to inherently low yields, it was decided not to continue evaluations of this variety and the seed lot was disposed of at a dehydration plant.

 

 

Commercial Variety Trials Aroostook Farm (continued)                                    Page 2  

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

 

3.  AF2211-9 (round chipper) (0.6 acre)

     Planting date: 5/19/2005

     First vine kill: 8/24/2005

     Harvest date: 9/27/2005                                  

This variety stored well as a seed lot at 38°F in 7 ½-20 cwt. pallet boxes. There was no sprouting of any tubers of this lot by late April. Tuber size profile was not as large as AF1758-7. Skin texture was smoother than AF1758-7, with slightly deeper eyes. Fusarium rot, soft rot, scab, hollow heart and growth cracks were absent from this lot. A very small amount of pressure bruise was observed.  Sunburn was noted this year in this variety, but not an excessive amount. This variety has proven to keep good chip fry color at colder storage temperatures. Yield was 250 cwt. per acre, with a total yield of 150 cwt. This lot was replanted to supply commercial trials in 2006.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

 

4.  AF1758-7 (round) (1.5 acre)

     Planting date: 5/24/2005

     First vine kill: 8/29/2005

     Harvest date: 10/06/2005

   This variety stored quite well as a commercial table stock lot at 38°F in a bulk bin.  No fusarium rot, soft rot, growth cracks, mis-shape, scab or hollow heart were present in this lot, and it had minimal sunburn. On March 14, 2006, this lot was warmed up and brought to a commercial packing operation where it was to be washed, graded, sized and put into 5 lb. 2 ¼ inch minimum poly bags. There were some small spindly sprouts about 1/8 inch in diameter and 2-3 inches long on some of the potatoes in the top ½ of the pile. Handling of the potatoes removed 95% of the sprouts by the time they went into the washer. The tubers were bright and round with a nice appearance. The USDA inspector noted the good appearance, and stated that there was approximately 2% shatter bruise, less than 1% black scurf, and less than 2% pressure bruise. The uniform size profile of the tubers in the lot accommodated the 2 ¼ inch minimum size requirements of the pack quite well resulting in minimal smalls. The packout data for this lot of AF1758-7 was as follows:

 

US#1 2 ¼” min.      65%

3 1/8” & up               3%

Culls                        12%

Smalls(1 ½-2 ¼)      20%

 

AF1758-7 tubers have a skin texture like a Superior with somewhat shallow eyes and very few blemishes. The tuber size profile for this specific lot was approximately 75% between 2 1/8” to 3 1/8”. The only negative issue with this variety seems to be that it is moderately susceptible to shatter bruise. I have also observed an increasing occurrence of blackscurf (rhizoctonia?) on tubers in this variety, especially in shorter rotation schedules, such as potatoes/grain. This condition has not been noticed on longer 3 year rotations, such as potatoes/grain/hay.

 

Commercial Variety Trials Aroostook Farm (continued)                                      Page 3

 

 

 

5.   AF1938-3 (round table stock) (1.2 acre)

      Planting date: 5/24/2005

      First vine kill: 8/29/2005

      Harvest date: 10/07/2005

  

 

This year marked the 4th consecutive year of evaluation for this variety. It stored well as a seed lot at 38°F in 7- 20 cwt. pallet boxes and did not sprout prematurely by mid-April. No fusarium rot, soft rot, sunburn, mis-shape, hollow heart, scab mechanical bruise or pressure bruise were present in this lot. However, there were approximately 3-4% growth cracks.

  This variety had very reduced yields this year at 117 cwt. per acre. Previous yields in trials of this variety have been in the 300+ cwt. range, with one experimental lot yielding 400+ cwt. per acre. Last year it also showed reduced yields of 200+ cwt/acre. It produces very round tubers, typed well with fairly shallow eyes.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

   As mentioned before in previous reports, the texture of tuber skin is between a Superior and Atlantic. It is a medium to late variety and has a fairly uniform size profile of approximately 70% between 2 1/8” and 3 1/8”. It has performed well in previous years                                                                                                                                  

in a commercial table stock washing/packaging operation, showing very few blemishes, giving a bright, attractive appearance in consumer bags. On the negative side, in the last two years of trials, this variety has shown an increasing occurrence of up to 3 % growth cracks. Yield was 117 cwt. per acre with a total yield of 140 cwt. This lot was given to a grower to plant in 2006 for evaluation as fresh table stock in a commercial packing shed.

 

 

 

6.   NY 126 (round chipper or table stock) (0.06 acre)

      Planting date: 5/20/2005

      First vine kill: 8/24/2005

      Harvest date: 10/06/2005

 

 

   This variety is for chipping or possibly specialty table stock use. This lot came from a very small seed plot, to be expanded for evaluation next year. Total yield was 6 cwt, stored in a small pallet box. There was no fusarium rot, soft rot, growth cracks, scab or sunburn in this lot. The lot was too small to assess for pressure bruise. There was no premature sprouting that occurred by mid-April. Tubers of this variety are round to oblong, with pale yellow flesh. Tuber skin is somewhat like a Katahdin, being moderately smooth.

 

 

 

 

Commercial Variety Trials Aroostook Farm (continued)                                       Page 4      

 

 

7.   NY 129 (round red) (0.06 acre)

      Planting date:  5/20/2005

      First vine kill: 8/24/2005

      Harvest date:  10/06/2005

 

This variety is for chipping or specialty table stock use. This lot came from a very small seed plot, to be expanded for evaluation next year. Total yield was 6 cwt, stored in a small pallet box. There was no fusarium rot, soft rot, growth cracks, scab or sunburn in this lot. The lot was too small to assess for pressure bruise. There was no premature sprouting that occurred by mid-April. There was an absence of skinning which was probably helped by the extended time between vine kill and harvest, which gave the tubers a nice unblemished red color. The originators of this variety have indicated that there are netting concerns with this variety. Even though last year produced no noticeable netting, a small amount was noticed this year in this lot.

              

      

 

 

 2006—Planting, Field and Harvest Observations:   

 

        Six lots of promising clones and named varieties were grown with intent to expand all six as available seed for commercial evaluation. They were fertilized with 1100 lbs. of 14-14-14-1.2 using a seed spacing of 8”. Planting dates were May 10 & 11, 2006. Vine killing date was August 18, 2006, and harvest date was October 23, 2006. The seed lots of all six of these varieties displayed good vigor with approximately 88-90% emergence. There were no fungal diseases or pests present during the growing season, and all varieties exhibited vigorous growth up until senescence. After field inspection by the Division of Plant Industry, two of the varieties showed evidence of mosaic virus. They were NDTX731-R (0.6% mosaic) and Carola (0.2% mosaic).  All of the seed lots were top killed early to avoid disease. All lots are being Florida tested and await certification confirmation. All six varieties will be evaluated out of storage in the spring of 2007.                                                                                        

 The six varieties are:                   

                           

         Variety                                Planted acres       Total yield (cwt)       Yield/acre (cwt)        

        

         NY129 (round red)                  0.1                        30                             300        

         NY126 (round chipper)           0.2                        40                             200       

         AF 1758-7 (round)                  0.26                      52                             200

         Blazer Russet                           0.1                        20                             200

         NDTX731-R                            0.1                        30                             300

         Carola                                       0.1                        26                             260