TPS potato selection criteria

[wmontanez]

Loeb

You had asked me about the selection criteria or ranking that I use etc in the hilling thread. I select based on what is important to me. My scale is 0 to 5.

1. Flavor
The potato has to be good. It has to be better than any store bought potato. That is of course subjective depending on the person. I cook each potato and evaluate its flavor. I take 2 potatoes and halve then, then boil, french fry or hashbrown, roast and mash each piece. I taste them just as is and decide if they are good. It has to be great in at least one of those tests. Just boiling do not do justice to some potatoes that shine when fried or mashed.

2. Storageability
Because of my weather I need long storage >6 months in the basement gets 5 points. If it sprouts in storage within one month gets 0 points, 3 months gets 2 points and so on.

3. Disease Resistance
I am still working on this one, but if has no signs on disease till the end when dies down then gets a 5 points.

4. Yield
My average up to day is 1.5 pounds per tuber planted. Ideally I would like high yields per tuber planted. If I get 3 pounds or more gets 5 points, if it does 1/2 pound gets 0 points, 2 pounds gets 3 points.

5. Berry production
I don't want sterile plants that cannot self-reproduce as TPS. Anything plant that gives no berries gets 0 points, 1 berry gets 1 point, 5 berries 2 points....20 berries gets 5 points. I got up to now one plant that gave me 12 berries. Very fertile!

Last year I grew more than 25 TPS plants from probably near 100 starts. I have a lot more information in the tatermater.p r o boards.com on the outcome on the thread TPS growing 2011 (for some reason I can't put the link here).

Since I ended up with over 30 potato varieties between the TPS tubers and other clones I have and all that I planted in May. I need some help deciding what to keep and what to part with, I have a hard time deciding so I made that scale to help me evaluate what to keep this year.

I tasted a lot of the TPS seedling tubers last year and based on flavor, some got pre-selected and some are now in the bottom. If I can select the seedling tuber for more than flavor like yield potential and storageability (>5months) or desired characteristics (round, russeting) then I am getting ahead. For example I grew one TPS called Amey X and from the 4 segregating Amey X I only saved the russets, the flavor were good in all of them.



I got one "Suytu Vilquina" segregation that was so bitter after been cooked that was incredible, but it was beautiful, the color was bright red and yellow inside. So it went into the trash .

This 1st year grow out is to determine yield, disease resistance and flowering/berry set. The table below shows the points for some clones and at the end I will sort by highest to lowest and do the ranking. Those with lower than 10 points probably gets let go.

[Tom Wagner]

Wendy,

Thanks for the insight on your ranking the criteria of potato selection.

I probably give the most priority to berry productions since I can share TPS better than tubers.

The cumulative data ranking gives me pause....but obviously...if a clone has a low score it has no likely need or want.

The excel graph is a fine way to collectively summarized data. Good Job!

[wmontanez]

Tom thanks, I made a similar thread in your site.
The cumulative score is interesting since my favorite ever is a mere 11 for Skagit Valley Gold due to 2 things: storage and OP berry production. This is a work-in-progress this table, at the end 77 potatoes has to be evaluated and narrow down to say 35 (ouch!!!)

So there is more to think about...since I would not eliminate SVG but probably try to make it reproduce to up the rank a bit. Give it some help by making the plants around it diploids for example. This can be of help to have more people add input to look at their results and can help one identify areas to improve or what to cross to what next year. For example I have Sarpo Finger give very little yield 2 years in a row, no storage ability and no berry set but is hardy and delicious. What can I cross it with to save it as TPS?. I might end up donating that clone but I still want the genes somewhere.

Here is a better image:

[loeb]

Separate thread is a great idea..

I'm looking for taste, disease resistance [priority is ability to make healthy tubers crop, the green part may look awful, long storage in my conditions, crop, colour[those colours!], and probably berry production too, but if I will find something really tasty and not producing too much berries I will save it - well, I always can leave it later. And I think I should look how tubers are acting after being damaged like cut or something.. Those that won't spoil from that place would be better.. I think that flavor can be a real challenge, because we have some tasty potatoes here..My favourite is Bryza but maybe the reason is that this is my "childhood flavour" I would like to find a potato that is great boiled to mash, other that is great boiled whole in skin, and it would be great to have one with "new potato" taste trough the winter..

Table is very good, with physical characteristics.. I would add "invasivness" - one of seedlings is very spreading one.. all are growing in one place, making new shots im maybe 10cm area from the first stem, but that one is sending shoots underground in the 20-30cm area oO and this is 1st year seedling, so I will have to watch it in the next year when I will grow it from tubers..

One thing more would be a hardiness to low temperatures, maybe Tom would sell some Pigs don't lie seeds or something like that to select from.. I would love to try it.

[Tom Wagner]

Low temp potatoes are a big part of my specialty work this year. I am still planting tubers for the late harvest including PIGS DON'T LIE variety potatoes. For what it is worth...I am hoping I can determine true frost resistance by planting last year's freezing resistant clones really late to test the vines as immature vines rather that vines that have been growing from 6 months previous.

Many TPS seedlings are to be planted ...finally...out in the field this week. Those too...will be rather immature when the first frost hits in about three months. I am getting rather too much rain here lately and it looks as if I may not have to hand water anything this year so far.

[wmontanez]

So many traits to select from...this round one of mine is a first selection based on the criteria I say above...next year I can select for other characteristics. I want to be able to plant earlier and leave over winter in the soil to have some potatoes freshly dug in spring. More or less a continuous source of food. Also I have identified some potatoes that have indeterminate habit and some determinate. I guess the determinates will be good for a compact garden or pots where the indeterminates will require more space and hilling. Not a big deal but for more efficient use of my soil resources.

[wmontanez]

To keep things together

[loeb]

Great list Mine 2012 tubers are sprouting right now.. few dropped out from shrinkage in storage and dying from excess rain in sprouting pots.. But the rest should be ok.. I hope I will be able to taste all of them this year. Last season only one seedling of Chaposa made enough big tubers to taste them, but the taste wass odd.. basically tasteless, floury potato with a strange stinging sensation after eating. If the same thing will happen this year with it, I will remove it. New seedlings are in progress.. This will be interesting growing season

[MrBig46]

Originally Posted by loeb

Great list Mine 2012 tubers are sprouting right now.. few dropped out from shrinkage in storage and dying from excess rain in sprouting pots.. But the rest should be ok.. I hope I will be able to taste all of them this year. Last season only one seedling of Chaposa made enough big tubers to taste them, but the taste wass odd.. basically tasteless, floury potato with a strange stinging sensation after eating. If the same thing will happen this year with it, I will remove it. New seedlings are in progress.. This will be interesting growing season

Are you root for WRC ?

[loeb]

I guess I'm not, because I have no idea about what you are asking me

[MrBig46]

Originally Posted by loeb

I guess I'm not, because I have no idea about what you are asking me

I am sorry. I thought that: Rally WRC- Sebastien Loeb.
A nice day Vladimír