Ulster Sceptre is a very early to early maturing potato with a semi-erect growth habit, white flowers, and pink sprouts. It produces large to very large, oval to long tubers with white to yellow skin, red eyes, and white flesh. The variety has high yield potential and uniform tuber shape, though it is somewhat susceptible to damage and bruising. It shows high resistance to foliage blight, powdery scab, and drought, and is field immune to wart (Race 1). However, it has low resistance to viruses and some pests. Best suited for table use with poor crisp and fry suitability.
Tuber Characteristics
- Skin colour: White to yellow
- Eye colour: Red
- Flesh colour: White
- Shape: Oval to long
- Eye depth: Shallow to medium-deep
- Skin texture: Smooth
Tubering Characteristics
- Yield potential: High
- Tubers per plant: Many
- Tuber size: Large to very large
- Shape uniformity: Uniform
- Internal rust spot: Frequent to very frequent
- Resistance to external damage: Susceptible to moderate
- Resistance to internal bruising: Low to medium
- Dormancy period: Short to medium-long
Utilisation Characteristics
- After cooking blackening: Trace to little
- Taste: Good
- Crisp suitability: Poor
- French fry suitability: Poor
- Dry matter content: Low
- Starch content: Low
Resistance to Fungal Diseases
- Late blight (tubers): Low to medium
- Late blight (foliage): High
Resistance to Virus Diseases
- Potato virus A: Low to high
- Potato virus M: Low to medium
- Potato virus X: Low
- Potato virus Y: Low
- Potato leaf roll virus: Medium to high
- Potato mop top virus: Very low
- Tobacco rattle virus: Very low to low
- Dry rot (F. coeruleum): Medium
- Dry rot (Fusarium spp.): Medium
- Powdery scab: High
- Wart (Synchytrium endobioticum): Field immune (Race 1)
- Gangrene: Very low to low