January 2019 - 27

among the largest increases - Lamoka
and Clearwater Russet - are widely
used for chips and fries, respectively.
Lamoka acreage jumped nearly 28
percent, making it the seventh mostgrown
variety in the U.S.
When Cornell University breeders
released Lamoka, along with Waneta,
in 2011, they had an eye on the chipping
market.
The
medium-sized
white
round holds up well in cold storage and
continues to rise in popularity.
Similar to Snowden, Lamoka was
a popular choice for spud growers
in areas where Frito-Lay varieties
are dominant, including Wisconsin,
Maine, Michigan and Nebraska.
It ranked no lower than fourth in
terms of acreage among all varieties in
those states.
" The variety has raised the bar in
some attributes, not only agronomic
performance but in chip quality and
processing performance. It's a good
yield variety with an above-average
center of gravity, " said Chris Long,
potato Extension specialist at Michigan
State University.
Long added Lamokas can be
susceptible
to
soilborne
pathogens,
such as pink rot, fusarium dry rot and
soft rot, but overall he can see why
Lamokas, with their scab resistance
and long storage life, are rising for
processing use.
" As a processor, I'm getting good
gravity and good chip quality from this
variety, " he said. " It has good chemical
storability. "
Clearwater Russets, grown primarily
in the Pacific Northwest,
" It's a good tasting potato; they don't
taste like Norkotahs, which taste like
nothing to me, " Kuehl said. " They have
a great shelf appearance. I don't think
I've found a rough one in all the years
I've been growing them.
" They seem to work good as fryers,
but real well as bakers. "
Kuehl has had issues with PVY and
received a
major shot in the arm in November, 2016
when McDonald's accepted the variety
for its french fries. Clearwater acreage
increased 26.7 percent in 2018 and now
ranks eighth in terms of total acres.
Clearwaters are known for having
fry color and overall good
excellent
appearance, and they have higher
protein content in relation to their
Burbank counterparts.
Mark Kuehl of Kuehl Farms in Ashton,
Idaho, has been growing the variety for
nearly a decade. While known as a fry
potato, Kuehl also thinks they make
great baking potatoes.
dry rot with Clearwaters, however.
" They can be a challenge to grow in our
country, " he said.
One category that has been a
consistent riser in recent years that
saw an extreme drop in 2018 is
" miscellaneous. " Acreage dropped from
4,504 in 2017 to just a 1,755 this year, a
fall a 61 percent.
There were 605 varieties listed in
this year's report, up from 504 in 2017.
Houser said some varieties previously
counted as miscellaneous now being
counted
separately
could
explain
some of the drop in the category, but
stopped short of saying that was the
sole reasoning. He planned to follow up
with growers at a national seed meeting
in early December.
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Spudman * January 2019
27
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January 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of January 2019
