News on New Potato Varieties from the United States

If you are living in Michigan or nearby, Purple potato chips could be on shelves at a grocery store near you this holiday season, thanks to a collaboration between Michigan State University researchers and Traverse City-based Great Lakes Potato Chip Co.

Plant breeders and geneticists of Cornell University have released more than 50 potato varieties since 1908. Now they are expanding their efforts to make more wild potato seeds available to potato breeders around the world.

NC State grew the North Carolina sweet potato industry into a global powerhouse. Now we're leading the effort to breed sweet potatoes that could provide economic opportunities and better nutrition for people in African countries. (Courtesy: Bill Krueger)

David Douches, a professor in the Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences and director of the MSU Potato Breeding and Genetics Program, has been at the forefront of the potato’s transition as people get more adventurous with their eating habits.

The Caribou Russet, a potato variety developed by the University of Maine and available since 2016, sees an increasing market

Farmers, researchers and members of the public gathered at the University of Maine’s Aroostook Research Farm in Presque Isle last Wednesday to learn about the latest in potato research.

Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists in Albany, California, have found a way to streamline the process that scientists use to insert multiple genes into a crop plant. Simplot is planning to use it to introduce multiple genes into potatoes to make them resistant to late blight

J.R. Simplot has acquired a license for CRISPR-Cas9 and related gene editing tools. This provides Simplot with another avenue to add desirable traits to fruits and vegetables, including potatoes.

Earlier this month Texas A&M held its annual Potato Field Day where it presented a range of new potato varieties.

The University of Maine has released a new gourmet potato variety, Pinto Gold.

USDA-AMS has proposed a rule to revise the classifications that determine the size requirements for potatoes grown in Idaho and Malheur County, Oregon. The proposal would also apply to all import of long type potatoes.

An experimental 'golden' potato has the potential to provide as much as 42 percent of a child’s recommended daily intake of vitamin A and 34 percent of a child’s recommended intake of vitamin E, according to a study co-led at The Ohio State University.

The USDA-NIFA has awarded a grant totaling $388,000 to the University of Maine to study potato breeding and improve quality and pest resistance in the eastern United States.

Examining the ancestors of the modern, North American cultivated potato has revealed a set of common genes and important genetic pathways that have helped potatoes adapt over thousands of years.

A project underway in Aberdeen, Idaho, aims to develop russet potatoes with resistance to pale cyst nematode, while identifying new molecular markers associated with resistance.

Potato Expo 2018 announces live streaming Potato TV throughout the event. Voting for the presentations on the Innovation Hub 'Main Stage' is now open.

Dirk Hays,Texas A&M AgriLife Research plant geneticist: “With Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), we can image the size of the tubers and get a correlation to the actual physical size of the potato without harvesting them. Potatoes are a dream for Ground Penetrating Radar.”

Old Oak Farms®, RPE’s core commodity brand, is bringing new life to the fingerling potato category with Party Potatoes®. In hopes to share the party nationwide, RPE has created multi-themed promotional campaign that will span over the next several months.