Julian C. Miller

Some factors influencing the culinary quality of Irish potatoes II. Physical characters

SummaryQuality comparisons were made with equal size tubers of the Irish potato varieties Red LaSoda, White Rose, Sebago, and Russet Burbank.Varietal differences in tuber cell size were found. Russet Burbank tubers contained the largest cells, and Red LaSoda the smallest. White Rose tuber cells were slightly larger than those of Red LaSoda while Sebago tuber cell size was exceeded only by that of Russet Burbank.There was a significant relationship between specific gravity and cell size of the potato tubers.Tuber cell size and starch content were highly correlated, indicating that starch content was associated with cell size of tubers. Russet Burbank tubers contained the largest percentage of total starch, while Red LaSoda tubers were of lowest total starch content.Mealiness scores of tubers were significantly associated with their cell size. Tubers of varieties containing the largest cells were rated highest in mealiness by the taste panel.

Red la soda—A mutation of la soda

SummaryRed LaSoda produces a very attractively colored tuber and several growers are anxious to obtain seed tubers. It has proven its adaptability in the seed-producing areas of the North and also its superior yielding ability over Triumph in the southern potato-producing areas. The Red LaSoda variety will yield equally as well as LaSoda and the tubers do not require added coloring to make an attractive product. The quality of the tubers is equally as good as most potato varieties grown in the southern states.The authors feel that this potato variety has a definite place in the potato trade. There is always a heavy market demand for attractive red-colored tubers from most of the potato-growing areas of the United States.

Effect of day length upon the vegetative growth, maturity, and tuber characters of the Irish potato

Summary1.Studies concerning the effect of length of day were made on vegetative growth, maturity, and yield and smoothness of tubers of the Irish potato when grown under field and controlled conditions.2.With field and controlled experiments, plantings under short days showed less vegetative growth, matured earlier, and the potatoes were generally smoother. The opposite effects were obtained under long-day conditions; the plants were very vegetative, matured later, tubers had deeper eyes, and were more irregular in shape, although, the total yields were higher.3.Seedlings representing several family lines were studied and the resulting segregations could be classified as either long or short-day plants. The parental combinations had a marked influence on whether the resulting seedlings would fall into the long or short-day group.

Re-evaluation of some techniques and their effect on stimulating flowering in four Irish potato varieties in Louisiana

SummaryAn experiment was set up to evaluate the effect of three techniques on the flowering of four varieties of Irish potatoes commonly grown in Louisiana. Records were taken in regard to the production of flower clusters and open flowers. As averages of the four varieties, flowering was highly stimulated by the wire girdling and stem incision treatments. The pruning of stolons had no significant effect on flowering. None of the treatments had a significant effect on the flowering of the sparsely blooming varieties, Triumph and Red LaSoda. The flowering of both Sebago and Katahdin was greatly increased by wire girdling; meanwhile the maximum increase in flowering of Sebago was obtained through stem incision.

LaRouge and LaChipper two new potato varieties released by Louisiana

SummaryLaRouge (L42-4S) is a smooth very attractive velvety red potato and has some scab resistance. This variety is about ten days earlier than Red LaSoda when grown in the North, and is well adapted both in the North and the South. This clone has also been the most outstanding entry in our fall yield trials.LaChipper (L91-78) is a white skin Cobbler type that possesses some resistance to late blight. It has proven to be the best line in our chipping tests when compared to other standard varieties.

Relation of some growth characters to stoloniferous condition in seedling Irish potatoes.

Summary1.A number of progenies from selfings and crosses of Irish potatoes were studied to determine the differences in the degree of stolon development and the relation of stolon development to certain other growth characters, under field conditions at Baton Rouge, Louisiana.2.As the degree of maturity increased from early to late, tuberization decreased accordingly.3.In general, the degree of tuberization decreased as the maximum height of plant and as primary stolon length increased.4.In the crosses studied, heat sprouting increased as stolon development progressed from a tuberous to a less tuberous condition. However, in the 2 selfings studied maximum heat sprouting occurred at a higher level of tuberization than that for the crosses.

Methods and techniques for breeding the Irish potato

SummaryThe workers in the Irish potato breeding and development program in Louisiana have devised a method for the very rapid screening of large populations both North and South. Since Southern states depend upon northern areas for seed production, any variety that is grown for seed should be thoroughly tested in all areas before it is released. With this system, complete evaluation, testing, and increase of seed can be brought about within a period of 8 to 10 years.The first step in any breeding program is to have an objective or objectives, and in the Louisiana potato breeding project, the goals are wide adaptability, high yield, color, shape, culinary quality, such as for chipping, baking and boiling, higher solids, which usually result in better edible quality, resistance to blight (Phytophthora infestans) and scab (Streptomyces scabies), and resistance to frost damage.Keeping in mind the aims and following the rapid screening procedure, varieties such as the Red LaSoda, which is now the 5th most important potato being grown for certification in the United States, the LaChipper, which has excellent chipping quality and blight resistance, and the LaRouge, which shows a reasonable degree of resistance to scab, were released.

Rushmore, a new obloxg baking type potato

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Suitability of southern grown potato varieties for processing

Summary and ConclusionsSeveral varieties of potatoes that are grown in the south have been evaluated for their suitability for processing.All varieties produced an acceptable quality canned product as evaluated by a taste panel.The highest quality frozen potatoes for French fries were those that had received a blanching treatment before freezing.Potatoes were pre-peeled, chemically treated and successfully stored as long as four weeks at 40° F. without any noticeable loss of flavor or change in color. Higher temperatures were not so effective for preserving the quality.Louisiana-grown potatoes produced chips that were comparable in quality to chips made from South Dakota-grown potatoes. However, the per cent recoverable chips was higher in South Dakota grown potatoes because of the higher specific gravity.

The effect of high storage temperature upon fall-grown seed Irish potatoes

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