North Dakota State University released its newest red-skinned fresh-market potato in February and has several more selections poised for variety release over the next year or so.
Susie Thompson, an associate professor and the Johansen-Thompson endowed professor in potato breeding at the university, says Dakota Skarlagen, a red-skinned, white-flesh table stock cultivar, was released Feb. 15.
It’s a “round to slightly oblong” potato that’s not quite as early as the traditional red norland.
“It has a much better skin color and is not as susceptible to silver scurf,” a fungal disease that primarily affects the appearance of the skin of a potato and can result in dehydration in storage, she says.
The name Dakota Skarlagen was chosen because skarlagen means “scarlet” in Norwegian, and many Scandinavians settled in the area where it is grown, Thompson says.
“It’s very uniform and has beautiful, bright red skin,” she adds.
Growers have been increasing Dakota Skarlagen acreage for the past several years as part of the evaluation process, but so far most of the plantings have been in North Dakota and Minnesota. Acreage is expected to expand over time.
A History of Innovation
Thompson has been employed by the university since 2001 and conducts research in potato breeding and genetics and develops new cultivars for growers and the potato industry.
“I make crosses to help create and improve characteristics that might help address a weakness or shortcoming of current industry cultivars,” Thompson says.
Although it’s commonly said that only one in a million seedlings becomes a new variety, she says the university has released eight or nine varieties during the 25 years she’s been there.
Thompson is particularly proud of the Dakota Russet, an important variety for processing into frozen french fries that also can be packed for fresh market.
It averages a 95% payable rate when growers take it to processors, significantly better than the Russet Burbank’s 80% rate, she says.
The Dakota Russet also is resistant to the sugar end disorder that can plague other processing varieties, and it was the first Midwestern variety accepted by McDonald’s to make french fries, Thompson says.
The university also released table stock varieties in the past 25 years including Dakota Jewel, Dakota Ruby and Dakota Dawn, a specialty potato with buff-colored skin, with purple splashes.
“When you cut it open, it’s a bright yellow color and has a really delicious flavor,” she says.
It’s called a specialty potato because it doesn’t have the usual red skin, white flesh or yellow skin and yellow flesh.
A Look Ahead
Another selection expected to be released by NDSU in the next year or so is a white-skinned fresh-market potato with a few patches of raspberry color on the skin and a raspberry or light magenta flesh.
In all, about 200 advancing lines are being evaluated across market types, Thompson says.
Some of the funding for the research comes from the Northland Potato Growers Association and Minnesota Area II Research and Promotion Council.
“It’s really nice to have the support and interaction with all the growers in our two states,” she says.
