AgriLife growing colourful potatoes to appeal to younger consumers

Creighton Miller, AgriLife Research potato breeder from College Station, recently conducted the Texas A&M Potato Breeding and Variety Development Programme field day at the farm of cooperator Bruce Barrett, south of Springlake.“Potatoes are an important delivery system for nutrients to humans,” Miller said. “The average consumption in the U.S. is 113 pounds per year per […]

Creighton Miller, AgriLife Research potato breeder from College Station, recently conducted the Texas A&M Potato Breeding and Variety Development Programme field day at the farm of cooperator Bruce Barrett, south of Springlake.
“Potatoes are an important delivery system for nutrients to humans,” Miller said. “The average consumption in the U.S. is 113 pounds per year per person. But overall potato consumption in the U.S. has generally declined somewhat. So what we are doing now is developing unique varieties that have a tendency to appeal to the younger set with high income who are willing to try something different. This has contributed to an increase in consumption of these types over the russets, which are still the standard.”
Miller said the objective of the Texas A&M potato breeding programme is to develop improved varieties adapted specifically to Texas environmental conditions.
“However, some of our varieties are widely adapted across the U.S.,” he said. “Three of them collectively represent the fifth-largest number of acres certified for seed production in the U.S., so we’ve released some successful varieties, and we are developing more all the time.”
The Texas Potato Variety Development Programme currently has 412 entries at the Springlake trials and 927 entries at the Dalhart trials. Additionally, the 2014 seedling selection trials at both Springlake and Dalhart include 115,408 seedlings from 634 families or crosses.
“We are always interested in new and improved red varieties and russet varieties, but there are some other types that have become more interesting lately,” Miller said.
One type is a small potato, he said, adding that within the trials he is looking for varieties with a heavy set of small potatoes.
“One of the reasons for the popularity of the smaller potato is with both spouses working, the amount of time required to prepare potatoes becomes an issue with some people,” Miller said. “With the small potatoes, they can be microwaved very fast and be on the table in a hurry.”