12/21/06 Three new potato varieties

The Tri-State Potato Variety Development Program has approved the release of three new potato varieties, bringing to 25 the number of spud varieties released by the 31-year-old program. One of the newly released potatoes, A93157-6LS, is a mid- to late-season variety notable for its high yields of US No. 1 tubers, a higher percentage than Russet Burbank and generally higher than Ranger Russet. Although it`s intended for both fresh and processing markets it will allow processors to make light-colored fries from tubers stored at temperatures as cold at 40 degrees Fahrenheit. A9045-7, another high-yielding mid- to late-season variety, also produces substantially more U.S. No. 1`s than Russet Burbank. Primarily intended for processing markets it has good resistance to internal and external defects. The third new potato, NDA5507-3Y, is a mid-season yellow-fleshed variety for fresh specialty markets, similar to Yukon Gold, one of its parents, but with higher yields in pretty much all trials and it also has much better potato virus Y and late blight resistance. Voice of Idaho Agriculture Bill Scott