Willamette: A Chipping Cultivar with High Yield and Specific Gravity, Low Incidence of Hollow Heart and Brown Center, and Suitability for Fresh-Market Usage

• Published in: American journal of potato research 2008-02, Vol.85 (1), p.85-92
• Main Authors: Mosley, A.R, Yilma, S, Hane, D.C, James, S.R, Rykbost, K.A, Shock, C.C, Love, S.L, Corsini, D.L, Pavek, J.J, Thornton, R.E, Charlton, B.A, Eldredge, E.P, Novy, R.G, Pavek, M.J, Knowles, N.R, Whitworth, J.L, Brown, C.R, Stark, J.C, Vales, M.I
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agriculture; Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; ascorbic acid; Biological and medical sciences; Biomedical and Life Sciences; cold storage; crop yield; Cultivars; disease incidence; disease resistance; food composition; food processing quality; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Genetics and breeding of economic plants; germplasm releases; glycoalkaloids; high-yielding varieties; Life Sciences; Plant Breeding/Biotechnology; Plant Genetics and Genomics; Plant Pathology; Plant Sciences; postharvest diseases; potato chips; potatoes; Solanum tuberosum; Specific gravity; storage temperature; vigor
• ISSN: 1099-209X; 1874-9380
• DOI: 10.1007/s12230-008-9006-6

Willamette (AO91812-1), a high-yielding, round, white-skinned variety with good chipping qualities, was released in 2003 by the Oregon, Idaho and Washington Agricultural Experiment Stations and the US Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service. Willamette was selected at Powell Butte, Oregon in 1993 from a cross between NDA2031-2 and A86463-3. Willamette vines are relatively large, vigorous and medium-late in maturity. Yields of Willamette were higher than Atlantic across a number of western states (total yield: Willamette 60.6 Mg ha-1, Atlantic 50.8 Mg ha-1). Willamette exhibited fewer internal tuber defects than Atlantic tubers (i.e. hollow heart and brown center: Willamette 2.0%, Atlantic 8.7%), but had similar levels of external defects. Willamette chips well from 10°C storage (Willamette chip color 1.4, Atlantic 1.6) but not from 4.4°C. Tuber specific gravity is comparable to that of Atlantic (1.084). Willamette tubers contain slightly lower levels of total glycoalkaloids (Willamette 3.1 mg 100 g-1, Atlantic 6.8 mg 100 g-1) and vitamin C (Willamette 16.4 mg 100 g-1, Atlantic 21.7 mg 100 g-1) than those of Atlantic, but has similar levels of dry matter, protein, dextrose and sucrose. Compared to Atlantic, Willamette shows greater resistance to Verticillium wilt and potato leafroll virus, similar susceptibility to early blight, foliar late blight, Erwinia soft rot and potato virus Y, and greater susceptibility to tuber late blight and common scab.