Glacier Fryer

Potato

Variety Description

Varieties used for comparison: 'Russet Burbank' and 'Ranger Russet'

Summary: 'Glacier Fryer' differs from the reference varieties mainly by plant height, leaf width, leaf silhouette, terminal and lateral leaf shape, intensity of anthocyanin colouration of the flower bud and corolla, colour of tuber skin and the anthocyanin colouration of the light sprout tip. 'Glacier Fryer' is shorter with a more narrow leaf than the reference varieties. The leaf silhouette of 'Glacier Fryer' is closed while it is intermediate for 'Russet Burbank' and open for 'Ranger Russet'. 'Glacier Fryer' has a broadly ovate terminal and lateral leaflet while they are elliptical for 'Russet Burbank' and narrowly ovate for 'Ranger Russet'. The intensity of anthocyanin colouration of the flower bud and corolla is stronger for 'Glacier Fryer' than for 'Russet Burbank'. 'Glacier Fryer' has light beige tuber skin while it is reddish-brown for the reference varieties. The intensity of anthocyanin colouration of the light sprout tip is moderate for 'Glacier Fryer' and absent or very weak for the reference varieties.

Description:

PLANT: semi-upright growth habit, foliage structure intermediate between stem and leaf type, mid-season maturity

STEM: very weak to weak anthocyanin colouration, medium thickness of main stem, medium swelling at nodes

LEAVES: dark green, closed silhouette, very weak anthocyanin colouration in rachis and petiole, medium presence of secondary leaflets
TERMINAL LEAFLET: broad ovate, acuminate tip, obtuse base
LATERAL LEAFLET: medium size, broad ovate, cuspidate tip, cordate base

INFLORESCENCE: low to medium flowering profusion, small to medium, flower buds persistent, medium anthocyanin colouration on flower bud
COROLLA: red-violet, strong anthocyanin colouration on inner surface, medium size, prominent star, very weak anthocyanin in peduncle

TUBER: oblong, cream flesh with no secondary colour
TUBER EYES: shallow, evenly distributed, eyebrows not prominent
TUBER SKIN: light beige, white at base of eye, netted texture

LIGHT SPROUT: medium size, conical shape, many root tips, short lateral shoots
BASE: very strong anthocyanin colouration, high proportion of blue in anthocyanin colouration, sparse pubescence
TIP: smaller than base in size, closed habit, medium anthocyanin colouration, medium pubescence

QUALITY: moist baking texture, mealy boiling texture, high boiling sloughing, very low cooking discolouration, medium high specific gravity

Origin & Breeding History: The cross was made by Colorado State University in 1992 at the San Luis Valley Research Centre and assigned to the Lethbridge Research Centre, as per the agreement between AAFC (Lethbridge) and CSU regarding the exchange of F1 greenhouse breeding populations. The female parent is a numbered clone from the USDA Aberdeen Breeding Program 'AO82281-1'. The male parent, Ranger Russet, is a high yielding clone with good french fry quality, high specific gravity and resistance to hollow heart. The first four years (1994-1997) of selection were carried out at the Vauxhall Research Substation (Lethbridge Research Centre) with subsequent evaluation in the Western Canadian Regional Potato Trials (1998 - 2001), multi-harvest trials (2002, 2003) at the Vauxhall Research Substation and a long term storage trial (2002). The clone was offered to the Western Potato Consortium in 2001 and was successfully tested by McCain Produce Inc. in 2002 and 2003.

Tests & Trials: A randomized complete block design was used with three replicates per variety. Plots consisted of rows 7.6 metres long. The plants within each row were planted 30 cm apart, and the spacing between rows was 91 cm. Measured characteristics were based on 50 measurements. Colour determinations were made using the RHS colour chart. Trials were conducted at Vauxhall, Alberta in 2006.

Comparison tables for 'Glacier Fryer' with reference varieties 'Russet Burbank' and 'Ranger Russet'

Plant height (cm)

Leaf length (including petiole) (cm)

Leaf width (cm)

Colour of corolla (RHS)

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Potato: 'Glacier Fryer' (left) with reference varieties 'Russet Burbank' (centre) and 'Ranger Russet' (right)

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Potato: 'Glacier Fryer' (left) with reference varieties 'Ranger Russet' (centre) and 'Russet Burbank' (right)