Researchers cook up tomorrow's potato at Carolina test farm

ELIZABETH CITY, N.C.

Mark Clough grabbed potatoes three at a time and quickly stabbed at the dirt.

Within seconds, he had a row of 28 potatoes spaced about 9 inches apart.

Two hours later, Clough and five others had a quarter-acre test field planted, boasting more than 20 potato varieties.

A researcher for North Carolina State University's Potato Breeding and Genetics Program, Clough plants test fields in Pasquotank County and other state locations each year to test potato varieties and compare their yields and quality.

It's part of an ongoing effort to breed new varieties that ultimately could be grown commercially.

Potatoes are big business in Pasquotank County, one of the largest producers in North Carolina, rivaled only by neighboring Camden County.

About 5,000 acres of potatoes are grown in the area, and the gross value of the crop each year is about $6.5 million to $8 million, said Tom Campbell, agricultural extension agent in Pasquotank County. About 60 percent of the local potatoes are sold for potato chips.

The potato varieties planted Thursday included chipping potatoes, which are typically drier than fresh stock, and russet potatoes, which are unusual for the area but a staple on the Kenneth R. Bateman Farm, where the test field is located this year.

Round white and red-skinned varieties are typically tested in the field, but the breeding program has a lot more to offer, Clough said. In his lab, he has varieties of all colors, including the common white, yellow and red, but also purple, blue and mixed.

"I would grow more specialty lines if growers were interested," Clough said. "Well, that's not quite true - if there was a market for them."

New varieties are created every year.

Approximately 10,000 to 20,000 new seeds might go through initial testing, and based on that first growing test, about 2 percent of those new seeds will proceed on to the next year's test. At the end of about 10 years, one or two varieties from the original 10,000 to 20,000 options might be considered for release because they are viable options for commercial growth.

The Pasquotank County test field this year includes some varieties already commonly grown in the area and some experimental varieties that don't even have names yet.

Yukon Gold, Atlantic and Peter Wilcox potatoes were planted along with NY136, from Cornell University, MSN 105-1, from Michigan State University and B 2327-2, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Among the volunteers Thursday, the spare Adirondack blue seed potatoes drew the most excitement, as each person filled up small bags to take home the unique "spacer" potatoes.

Different colored "spacer" potatoes were placed between test varieties to distinguish the potatoes if they get moved around during harvest.

In the test field, different varieties are grown in the same circumstances. If any one variety grew at the edge of the field, it might grow differently because it got more sunlight or nutrients from the soil, Campbell said.

Each seed potato should yield about 10 potatoes. Harvest should be in 110 days.

Lauren King, (252) 338-2413, lauren.king@pilotonline.com