Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

1. Call to order, additions and approval of agenda Greg welcomed us and called meeting to order at 1:15 PM

2. Introductions – Sudeep Matthew (U MD), Mark Clough (NC State), Lincoln Zotarelli (U FL), Don Halseth (Cornell U), Ramon Arancibia (V. Tech), Walter De Jong (Cornell U), Greg Porter (U ME), Andrei Alyokhin (U ME), Xinshun Qu (PA State), Christian Christensen (U FL), Andy Glinn (Crown Farms), Gary Hawkins (McCain Foods), Bob Leiby (PA Coop Potato Growers), Chris Hopkins (Black Gold Farms).

Ramon Arancibia is new to the group; has previously worked with sweet potatoes. Sudeep Matthew will soon be starting a new position with Syngenta. Don Halseth is now retired, after a 40 year career. McCain Foods appreciates data we collect from a large range of environments, helps them decide which varieties to consider in USA and abroad.

Moment of silence for two collaborators who passed away in 2014: Christian Thill (potato breeder, U MN) and Leslie Wanner (common scab expert, USDA-ARS, Beltsville MD).

3. Appointment of Committees

Site selection – Greg Porter. Beltsville, MD suggested. PA, near PHL airport as backup

Resolutions – Mark Clough

Nominations – for remainder of current project, De Jong to serve as secretary, NC (Yencho or Clough) to serve as Vice-Chair, and Porter to serve as chair.

4. Local Arrangements

Dinner tonight – At Fishbones, meet in lobby.

5. Administrative Advisor Report – S. Brown

We have a new advisor – Dr. Susan Brown, an apple breeder and director of the NY Agriculture Experiment Station in Geneva NY. Susan was unable to attend.

6. National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Report – A.M. Thro

Dr. Thro was unable to attend.

7. Comments from Industry Representatives

Gary Hawkins gave a brief powerpoint presentation. McCain Foods does not breed potatoes, they rely on cooperators around the globe. In their view, there are simply too many environments to breed for. Have found that 0.1 acre-scale, multi-site trials work well to identify mechanical handling problems and produce sufficient potatoes to run through their pilot line. Some clones – including Russet Burbank – do not trial well, they require unique production conditions. Their pilot line runs 400 pounds per hour, continuous flow. A ton takes a few hours to run, allows them to test various parameters. Texture is the most difficult trait to have "on spec". McCain Foods needs a 15% increase in yield in the Northeast for it to remain competitive with the Northwest. Expectations for new varieties are exceptionally high. Bruise and distribution of solids within and between tubers are serious issues.

Seed grower Andy Glinn noted that shape, smooth skin and excellent yield are key traits for his customers. Getting growers to try new varieties is becoming more difficult; risk aversion is growing.

Bob Leiby reported that PA has lost potato acres over the past two years, from 8000 to about 6500. Possibly a result of high corn and soybean prices. Mid-sized growers are disappearing, large and small growers remain. Interest in creamers and par-fry varieties for "fresh-fry" usage in restaurants, i.e., potatoes are not frozen before restaurant uses them.

Chris Hopkinson stated that there is still a need for a variety to replace 'Atlantic' in the South. Appreciates NE1231 efforts currently being made to deliver this.

Andrei Alyokhin (University of Maine, entomology and NE1231 participant) has found that phostrol kills many, but not all, Colorado Potato Beetles, and is investigating this further. Is interested in screening clones that may have partial or full resistance to CPB, aphids, and/or wireworm.

8. Invited research presentations.

De Jong summarized work by a graduate student (Anna Levina) in his lab, aimed at correlating variation in tuber metabolites with variation in SNP markers.

Zotarelli provided an overview of his program. FL grows 20,000 acres of potatoes, most of it near Hastings. Plant September to February, harvest mid-Dec to June. Yields are 250-400 cwt/acre, prices $15-20/cwt. Has tested drip irrigation (works, but too expensive for potatoes), tile drainage (works, and removes excess salt, too; cost of 1-2K/acre). Don’t need furrows with tile, so can plant 10% more. Standard in FL is seepage irrigation, where there is a water impermeable layer just a few feet down. They have display fields with each irrigation system installed, both for testing and for educating growers how to best use them and manage nutrients.

Christensen summarized his ongoing doctoral research, characterizing NUE and root architecture. Is working with S. chacoense, phureja x stenotomum and several cultivars. Uses WinRHIZO to analyze 2-D scans of roots. S. chacoense has many more roots and greater root length density than tuberosum (length, surface area, tips and forks).

Mark Clough reported that acreage in NC has been steady at 15-16K, with 70% for chipping, 30% for table. Focus of NC breeding efforts is on resistance to internal heat necrosis, early bulking, improved red skin color, CPB resistance, and PVY resistance. Mapping IHN resistance in Atlantic x B1829-5 cross. Run 4-6 on-farm trials every year.

Adjourned for the day at 5:25PM.

Meeting cont. January 10 – 8:00AM

9. State, Federal, and Provincial Site Reports

Florida. 20,000 acres, 80% chip / 20% fresh.

Maine. Good year for quality. 53,000 acres (a decrease), 15% chip / 50% processing / 20% seed / 15% fresh. Farms larger than 800 acres, or smaller than 10 acres, are booming. Intermediate scale farms are disappearing.

Maryland. Low IHN this year. 3000 acres, 90% chipping / 10% fresh. BNC304-1 stood out, in a good way.

New York. 11,000 acres, 65% chipping / 30% fresh / 5% seed. High specific gravity – and bruise.

Pennsylvania. 6500 acres. Quality and yield good.

North Carolina. 15,000 acres. 70% chip / 30% table.

New Brunswick. 50,000 acres. 50% processing / 50% seed and table. Have moved to no top-killing for processing potatoes. This increases yield, as well as skinning.

10. Pathology Tests Reports

Maine. New pathologist on board, Jay Hao. Will not continue bacterial ring rot symptom testing (as D. Lambert, now retired, did) but will continue pink rot testing. [North Dakota (Gudmested) still tests for BRR symptoms]. Porter will begin entering NE1231 clones into his common scab trial.

Pennsylvania. LB trial this year exploited a natural infection with US-23.

11. Breeding/Genetics Reports

Maine. 55,000 single hills. Effort allocation is 50% russets / 10% specialty / 40% chip, whites and yellows. Late blight, scab and PVY are priorities for resistance breeding. ‘Easton’ (AF3001-6) was released in 2014; french-fry variety. ‘Sebec” (AF0338-17) also released in 2014; chipping from the field and fresh market.

New York. 18,000 seedlings. 70% chip / 30% fresh.

North Carolina. 10,000 seedlings. NC0349-3 is in USPB mini fast track. Potentially first-ever NC release. 60% chip / 30% table (mostly reds) / 10% specialty.

12. Seed orders, shopping list, new entries – Greg Porter

Breeder’s Choice Clones for 2015 – AF4648-2, AF4975-3, and AF4985-1.

13. Update on the NE1231 website/database/data reporting/summary generation

Please send 2014 trial data to Mark Clough soon.

14. Grants/Funding: new opportunities?

Next potato special grant RFP likely in Spring 2015.

15. Old Business

Current NE131 project expires 2017. Will presumably need to write next proposal in 2016.

16. New Business (if any) – no new business

17. Committee Reports

Resolutions:

a) We send our deepest condolences to the loved ones of our colleagues and friends Christian Thill and Leslie Wanner.
b) We recognize and congratulate Don Halseth for 40 years of excellent leadership and contribution to the potato industry and academia and wish him our best in retirement.
c) We wish Josh Freeman well in his new job and thank him for his participation in the project
d) We thank Sudeep Matthew for his efforts and participation in the project for these last five years and wish him well in his new career. We also thank him for the planning and execution of this year’s local arrangements.
e) We thank the NPC and other potato expo organizers for assisting in our meeting arrangements.
f) We acknowledge Greg Porter for his service, leadership and time as our project coordinator. We also acknowledge Greg and U Maine staff for their maintenance of the NE1231 seed nursery.
g) We acknowledge Mark Clough for his continued management of the NE1231 database.

19. Other Business – none.

20. Adjournment – 11 am.

Accomplishments:

This multidisciplinary, regional project utilizes existing strengths and resources of the potato breeding community in the eastern US, and it encourages the pooling of regional resources and promotes increased communication within the potato community located in the northeast, mid-Atlantic and southeast. The overarching goal of this specific project is to identify new potato varieties for use in the Northeastern, mid-Atlantic and southeast US, which will contribute to a more sustainable and profitable potato industry. Most major varieties, including Atlantic (the dominant out-of-field chipping variety in the US) as well as three recent chip potato varieties that have resistance to internal heat necrosis, Harley Blackwell, Elkton and Sebec are products of the coordinated eastern potato breeding and variety development effort. As such, the NE-1231 Project (and its predecessors NE-1031, NE-1014, NE-184 and NE-107) have played a central role in eastern potato variety development for many years.

This regional project has: 1) allowed potato breeders to share breeding materials and test results; 2) along with the USDA NRSP6 Potato Germplasm Enhancement Project it has facilitated potato germplasm selection and evaluation under diverse environmental conditions by all the breeding programs in the eastern US; 3) given research and extension personnel the opportunity to evaluate new selections from several potato breeding programs; 4) facilitated regional germplasm screening for specific characteristics at a single location (e.g. early blight and powdery scab resistance in PA); 5) developed variety profiles and cultural recommendations for each selection put into commercial production; and 6) as noted above, resulted in the release and adoption of most, if not all, of the major potato cultivars currently produced in the eastern US.

Potato breeding for improved quality and pest resistance was conducted in ME, NY, NC, and USDA-ARS Beltsville, MD during 2014. These four programs focus on specific pest and marketing issues, so that regional resources are used efficiently.  For example, ME is the only breeding program in the region which focuses on russets and long whites for processing (50% russets, 40% fresh and chipping whites, 10% specialty).  ME also emphasizes research on late blight, pink rot, potato virus Y, and scab resistance.   During 2014, our programs generated 527 new tetraploid families (297,000 seeds) from crosses using parents with desirable quality, utilization, adaptation, and/or pest resistance traits. USDA-ARS also generated 10 crosses (3,306 seeds) from diploid crosses (2x, 2x-4x, or 4x-2x) for use in germplasm improvement.  Progeny (106,355) from earlier crosses were selected resulting in 3,437 clones that will be further selected under conditions with diverse abiotic and biotic stress in the eastern U.S. and beyond.

Advanced clones from our project were introduced to growers through field days, presentations, publications, web sites, and direct contact with stakeholders.  Thirteen advanced clones were entered into tissue culture programs leading to commercial seed production. Several advanced clones and newly released varieties are currently being evaluated in commercial scale trials on-farm for their potential across the US.  The most promising chipstock lines currently under evaluation include: Beacon Chipper, Elkton, Lamoka, Sebec (AF0338-17), Waneta, AF4157-6, BNC182-5, NC0349-3, and NY148.  NY150 and AF4138-8 are being evaluated for the round-white fresh market. NY150 is a specialty white with very small, bright tubers.  The most promising red-skinned tablestock clones are: Dark Red Chieftain, Red Maria, and Strawberry Paw (NY136). AF4659-12, is a pinto-type, yellow-fleshed ‘roasting’ variety that is being evaluated by small-scale local foods markets.  All of these will be evaluated in more extensive research and commercial trials during 2015.

Each eastern breeding program submits its most promising advanced clones to the regional project’s seed nursery in ME.  During 2014, the project distributed seed potatoes for 16 regional potato variety trials conducted in seven states and two Canadian provinces.  Eleven standard varieties and 35 experimental clones were tested for yield, tuber quality, and pest resistance. NE1231 Regional potato variety trials were conducted at three ME locations during 2014.  The regional trial sites (numbers of clones tested) were: Presque Isle (41), St Agatha (37), and Exeter (15).   NE1231 variety trials were also conducted in FL, NC, VA, MD, PA, OH, NY, and Canada (NB, QC).  Each regional trial site reports results to their local stakeholders and submits their data to the project website coordinator located in NC.  The data are entered into a searchable database so that results are accessible to stakeholders and researchers anywhere in the world. Based on 2014 Maine results, Sebec (AF0338-17), AF4157-6, AF4648-2, NY148 and NY154 were the most outstanding chipping prospects.  Sebec, AF4138-8 and NY150 were promising round-white fresh market clones.   Dakota Trailblazer, Easton (AF3001-6), Teton Russet, AF3362-1, and AF4296-3 were the top performing russeted clones.  B2152-17 and AF4659-12 were promising specialty clones.

In terms of sharing information, our project web site and interactive searchable database, which is updated regularly, (see: http://potatoes.ncsu.edu/NE.html) continues to grow in importance and popularity.  Evidence of its importance is the fact that it has been used as a model for other regional projects including the new USDA NIFA SCRI potato acrylamide mitigation project and the USPB chip trials. The web site provides current contact information for project cooperators and recent research reports, as well as access to our regional variety database and a dynamic summary generator for all released varieties. The interactive database has become popular as a tool used by researchers and stakeholders, and it can be viewed at < http://potatoes.ncsu.edu/nesrch.php>.  The summary generator allows users to build a cultivar summary that contains the most up-to-date performance data in a concise one-page format <http://potatoes.ncsu.edu/nesummary.php>.

New varieties and descriptions.

This project seeks, through activities coordinated across many Northeastern States, to develop potato varieties with improved agronomic, disease-resistance, and nutritional characteristics.  It is anticipated that improved potato cultivars will help maintain the viability of rural economies, reduce dependence on pesticides, and contribute substantially toward maintaining a secure, safe and nutritious food supply.

Advanced Potato Clones Showing Particular Promise in 2014 include:

• AF3362-1 (Reeves Kingpin x Silverton Russet), a mid-season, long russet with good yields, processing potential, and fair to good appearance.  AF3362-1 is very good baked and mashed.  U.S.#1 yields have averaged ~132% of standard russeted varieties (usually Russet Burbank) in Maine trials.  Specific gravity is moderate (average of 1.083 in ME trials) and fry color from storage has been mostly good. It may be a good alternative to Shepody for out-of-field and short-term storage processing use as well as useful for russet fresh market.   It has moderate scab resistance and good bruise resistance.  AF3362-1 is susceptible to internal heat necrosis and should not be grown in the S.E. states or other areas where this defect is frequently observed
• AF4157-6 (Yankee Chipper x Dakota Pearl), an early to mid-season, round to oblong white with good yields, moderately-high gravity, very good chip color, and fair to good appearance.   U.S.#1 yields have averaged 95% of Atlantic and 108% of Snowden in Maine trials.  Specific gravity is moderate to high (average of 1.086 in ME trials) and chip color from storage has been very good.  It has low sugars even from cool temperature storage.  It is susceptible to scab, but has resistance to golden nematode, blackspot bruise, and pink rot.  AF4157-6 has potential as a chipper in southern states and in northern states on fields where scab is not a concern
• AF4138-8 (SA9707-6 x AF1953-4), a fresh market, early to mid-season, round to oblong white with bright skin.  It has good yields, attractive tubers, low specific gravity, blackspot bruise tolerance, low hollow heart incidence, and good boiled quality.   It is moderately resistant to scab and has golden nematode resistance.  
• AF4124-7 (A8469-5 x SC9512-4), a medium maturing, russet with good fry quality, fair tuber appearance, early sizing, and high yields.  US#1 yields have averaged ~119% of standard russeted varieties (usually Russet Burbank) in Maine trials.  Specific gravity is moderate (average of 1.085 in ME trials) and fry color from storage has been good.  It is moderately resistant to scab and has good blackspot bruise resistance. 
• AF4172-2 (A95523-12 x A92158-3), a medium maturing, russet with good fry quality, fair to good tuber appearance, and high yields.  US#1 yields have averaged ~119% of standard russeted varieties (usually Russet Burbank) in Maine trials.  Specific gravity is moderate (average of 1.083 in ME trials) and fry color from storage has been very good.  It has been a good performer in the national fry processing trials (NFPT).  It is susceptible to scab, but has good bruise resistance.  Tuber size tends toward the smaller size classes.  Baked quality scores have been very good.  
• AF4296-3 (A0508-4 x A99081-8), a widely adapted, late maturing, russet with good fry quality, fair tuber appearance, and high yields.  US#1 yields have averaged ~111% of standard russeted varieties (usually Russet Burbank) in Maine trials.  Specific gravity is moderate (average of 1.079 in ME trials) and fry color from storage has been good.  It has been an outstanding performer in the national fry processing trials (NFPT).  It is moderately susceptible to scab, but has moderate verticillium resistance and good bruise resistance.  
• AF4648-2 (NY132 x Liberator), a mid-season, round to oblong white with good yields, moderately-high gravity, bruise resistance, very good chip color, and good appearance.   It could go for chipping or fresh market.  It has good scab resistance and is resistant to golden nematode and PVY. 
• AF4659-12 (A99331-2 x US147-96RY), a yellow-fleshed “pinto-type” specialty variety with a interesting red and yellow skin pattern.  It produces small, fingerling-type tubers that are excellent roasted, boiled, or fried.  Seed Availability:  University of Maine seed plus it is in virus clean up at Porter Farm for tissue culture.
• NY148 (NY128 x Marcy), a late-season, high specific gravity, chip stock clone.  It has round tubers with prominent skin netting.  Yields have been very high in many trials.  Chip color from storage is good, but not exceptional.   It has good scab resistance, moderate early and late blight resistance, resistance to golden nematode (Ro1).  It is susceptible to internal heat necrosis and is quite susceptible to bruising. 
• NY150 (NY121 x Jacqueline Lee), a niche market, early-season, round-white for fresh market use.  It produces many small tubers with bright white skin.  It has moderate scab resistance, moderate late blight resistance, resistance to golden nematode (Ro1), and is immune to PVY. 
• NY154 (B38-14 x Marcy), a late-season, moderate to high  specific gravity, chip stock clone.  It has round to oblong tubers with netted skin.  Yields have been very high in many trials.  Chip color from storage is good, but not exceptional.   It has good scab resistance and moderate early blight resistance. 

Project milestones for 2014, and progress related to each of these, follow:

Conduct breeding, germplasm enhancement, and selection studies to improve potato productivity and quality for important eastern U.S. markets.

Breeding:  During 2014, our programs generated 527 new tetraploid families (297,000 seeds) from crosses using parents with desirable quality, utilization, adaptation, and/or pest resistance traits. USDA-ARS also generated 10 crosses with diploids (2x, 2x-4x, or 4x-2x; 3,306 seeds) for use in germplasm improvement.  Progeny (106,355) from earlier crosses were selected resulting in 3,761 clones that will be further selected under conditions with diverse abiotic and biotic stress in the eastern U.S. and beyond. Crosses conducted by the University of Maine continue to emphasize (50%) russets for processing and fresh; however, a significant component of the program is represented by round whites and chipping types (40%) and specialty types (10%).  Cornell University and NC State University place strong emphasis on breeding for chip quality and utilization, but also include fresh market, colored-skin, and specialty types in their breeding goals. 

USDA-ARS potato breeding at the tetraploid level typically focuses on chipping types and clones with colored skin and/or flesh.  The 4x-2x crosses in the USDA-ARS program partially focus on yellow-fleshed tetraploid S. tuberosum (tub) and orange-fleshed diploid S. phureja-S. stenotomum (phu-stn) to enhance the carotenoid content in tuberosum. The phu-stn combinations are also being used to enhance tuber specific gravity.  In addition, crosses were made between tub and hexaploid S. albicans or S. iopetulum to incorporate the nitrogen uptake efficiency of these hexaploid species into tuberosum  Also, crosses were made between diploid phu-stn and S. chacoense (chc) to incorporate the nitrogen uptake efficiency of chc into long-day adapted phu-stn.  In addition, 4x-2x or 2x-4x crosses were made between tub and cycle three late blight resistant phu-stn clones.  S. hougasii based potato germplasm (E53.61 from USDA-WA, C. Brown) was crossed with three tetraploid clones from USDA-ARS Beltsville. This research will provide potato breeders with a valuable new source of disease resistance and chip quality.

VA Tech continues to develop 4x-2x hybrid families representing unusual genomic combinations of Solanum tuberosum Group Tuberosum and S. tuberosum Group Phureja where much of the Phureja genome has passed through the “monoploid sieve” to eliminate lethal and severely deleterious genes. The question is whether this purified Phureja genome can serve as a building block for new cultivars or if it will introduce too many undesirable traits for potato breeding purposes. Seedlings representing eight 4x-2x hybrid families generates seedling tubers for future selection studies.  The families were generated from crosses between cultivars Atlantic, Katahdin and Desirée as female parents and male parents consisting of diploid hybrids derived from crosses between doubled monoploids and heterozygous diploid selections.   The seedling tubers were shipped to ME and NC for field selection.  The most promising clones from these selection studies will be further crossed to adapted germplasm to continue devolping this Phureja-based germplasm for possible use in breeding and cultivar development. 

Selection:  USDA-ARS and ME send seed from all clones in the second or third field generation (12-hill or 60-hill stage) to cooperators in FL and NC for early generation evaluation and to select materials with adaptation to the Southeastern U.S. All of our programs send seed from more advanced field generations (third and higher) to regional cooperators (FL, NC, VA, MD, PA, OH, NY, ME) for continued phenotyping, selection, and advancement.  Advanced clones from our project were introduced to growers through field days, presentations, publications, web sites, and direct contact with stakeholders.  Thirteen advanced clones were entered into tissue culture programs leading to commercial seed production.  

Use of novel and highly improved potato germplasm to reduce the impact of economically important potato pests in the eastern U.S.

The project places special emphasis on breeding and selecting clones with resistance to late blight, early blight, scab, golden nematode races Ro1 and Ro2, potato virus Y (PVY), and heat necrosis. Disease resistant varieties generated by this project have the potential to greatly reduce growers’ losses to devastating diseases such as late blight and can also reduce production costs and environmental risk by reducing the number of chemical sprays applied to protect the crop. Golden nematode, a serious pest found in NY and other countries, cannot be effectively managed without resistant varieties.

Wild or cultivated diploid germplasm that we are using to introduce novel traits for pest resistance or improved quality includes:  S. phureja and S. stenotomum for resistance to early and late blight (USDA-ARS); S. bulbocastanum for late blight and insect resistant (ME), S. chacoense for insect resistance (USDA-ARS, NC); S. hougasii for late blight resistance (USDA-ARS); and S. berthaultii for insect resistance (NY, NC).  In addition, 4x-2x or 2x-4x crosses were made between tub and cycle three late blight resistant phu-stn clones. 

Golden nematode: Breeding efforts in NY have emphasized resistance to golden nematode Ro1; however, resistance to race Ro2 is now also a priority.  The NY program developed Ro2 resistance by selecting for adaptation within a collection of South American tetraploids, and work has begun to procure additional sources of resistance from Europe to broaden the genetic base of resistance and provide resistance to G. pallida.  The USDA-ARS and ME programs also use parental materials with nematode resistance.  Progeny from crosses using resistant parents are being evaluated for resistance to both races of the golden nematode (NY and USDA-ARS).  NY’s H1 PCR-based marker is also being also used to screen clones for Ro1 resistance (NY, ME).  NY is also testing for resistance to G. pallida using in vitro techniques.

Late and early blight:  The most promising late blight resistant selections from ME, NY, and USDA-ARS undergo field evaluation for resistance in PA within the NE-1231 regional project. Thirty-nine clones were screened for resistance during 2014.  Five experimental NE-1231 clones (Rochdale-Gold Doree, NY148, NY150, Palisade Russet, and CO00291-5R) were resistant in these trials, while seven were moderately resistant (Dakota Trailblazer, AF4342-3, BNC182-5, BNC244-10, MSQ086-3, NY136, and NY154). Ninety-four third-year and 21advanced clones from the ME program had late blight resistance in 2014 tests and will be further evaluated during 2015.  On 39 clones evaluated, nine (Dakota Trailblazer, Easton (AF3001-6), Palisade Russet, Russet Burbank, AF4342-3, AF4347-1, BNC182-5, CO00291-5R, and NY148) were moderately resistant or resistant to early blight in PA trials during 2014.   

A diploid S. phureja-S. stenotomum population, resulting from a cross of a highly resistant late blight clone x a susceptible clone, has been generated and will be used to map genes involved in late blight resistance in this population using the SolCap-derived SNP chip (USDA-ARS, PA). Additional selection for late blight resistance occurred in a cooperative project between USDA-ARS and PA.  USDA-ARS maintains a diploid Solanum phureja-S. stenotumum population (phu-stn) that has undergone multiple selection cycles for resistance. The levels of resistance in the diploid phu-stn population increased dramatically over multiple selections cycles. To avoid narrowing the genetic base, the most resistant clone from each maternal half-sib family was planted in a seed nursery, and open-pollinated seed was collected to advance the population to the next selection cycle. Clones with high levels of resistance were screened for 2n pollen production, and those that produced at least 5% 2n pollen were utilized in 4x-2x crosses. Hybrids between tuberosum and late blight resistant diploids have now proceeded through several cycles of resistance selection.  Mini-tubers from this project  were sent to Toluca, Mexico for testing against late blight in an area with a highly diverse pathogen population.  Resistant clones from this breeding effort have been utilized in 4x-2x crosses to tuberosum to transfer this resistance into the tetraploid population and these materials will continue to be developed.  S. hougasii based potato germplasm (E53.61 from USDA-WA, C. Brown) was crossed with three tetraploid clones from USDA-ARS Beltsville.  This project will provide potato breeders with a valuable new source of resistance to early and late blight.

Scab: ME, NY, PA, and USDA-ARS screen and select for resistance to scab in inoculated and/or naturally-infected field experiments.  Lines are tested over multiple years because of environmental effects on disease incidence and severity.  Scab resistant parents are used extensively in all four breeding programs.  Clones showing resistance are being used as parents to improve the level of resistance in future germplasm.  Forty standard varieties and experimental NE-1231 clones were screened for powdery scab resistance in a PA trial during 2014.  Nine (Dakota Trailblazer, Easton (AF3001-6), Katahdin, Russet Burbank, Russet Norkotah, Teton Russet, Snowden, AF3362-1, and AF4532-8) were moderately resistant or resistant.  Including 4^th-year and advanced clones, 61 of 156 University of Maine selections had scab resistance in our 2014 screening trial. 

Potato Virus Y (PVY) As a result of the NY neotuberosum project, extreme resistance to PVX and PVY is present in many NY breeding lines.  The variety Eva, for example, is immune to both PVX and PVY.   All four breeding programs continue to include virus-resistant clones as parents. Marker-assisted selection for potato virus Y resistance (Whitworth et al. 2009; Ry_adg, RYSC3, Kasai et al, 2000; Ry_sto, YES3, Song and Schwarzfischer 2008) are being used to supplement traditional screening methods and provide earlier detection of resistant clones.

Colorado Potato Beetle: Horticultural evaluation of glandular-trichome- producing advanced lines continues within the Cornell NY breeding program.  Crossing at the diploid level is also being undertaken to reinitiate the introgression of trichome traits from S. berthaultii into S. tuberosum.  All current CPB-resistant lines are derived from a handful of crosses between tetraploid S. tuberosum and unreduced pollen from diploid S. berthaultii.   A frequent association between insect resistance and unacceptable levels of tuber glycoalkaloids has been difficult to eliminate while selecting at the 4x level.  Current tetraploid lines also lack the acyl-sugar secreting, type B trichomes present in S. berthaultii.  In a complementary effort, NCSU has used the USDA-ARS-developed tetraploid S. chacoense (2n=4x=48) potatoes crossed with S. tuberosum (Sanford et al., 1997) to develop CPB resistant germplasm. During 2006-2013, NCSU has used several of the most promising advanced chc-based CPB-resistant lines in crosses with Cornell University’s S. tuberosum X S. berthaltii derived materials.  Field evaluation of these materials continued in 2013.

Selection:  Each of the breeding programs maintain plots for resistance screening (e.g. NC, CPB resistance; ME, scab, verticilliun, late blight, pink rot, fusarium, PVY and PLRV; NY late blight, scab, insect resistance, PVY; USDA-ARS late blight, scab; and/or or utilize regional collaborators (USDA-ARS NY for golden nematode resistance; Penn State for late blight, early blight, and powdery scab). Marker-assisted selection is being used to speed selection for PVY and golden nematode resistance.

Short-term Outcomes:

Eastern potato growers need new potato varieties which are highly productive and less susceptible to stress, diseases, and insects than current varieties.  This regional potato breeding and trial network produces new potato varieties and evaluates their potential to serve fresh, processing, and specialty potato markets in the East.  These new varieties will improve grower profitability by increasing yields, enhancing market quality, and/or decreasing costs associated with pests.   Farm gate receipts for eastern potato production exceed 460 million dollars annually, therefore the impact of a successful new potato cultivar can mean many millions of dollars to the industry over time. Potatoes can cost more than $2500 per acre to produce and devastating diseases such as pink rot and/or late blight can totally destroy the crop.  Resistant varieties greatly decrease the risk of losses and, in the case of late blight resistance, can reduce production costs by reducing the number of chemical sprays applied to protect the crop from the pest.  Several areas in NY could not produce potatoes without the golden nematode resistant varieties developed as part of this and other research projects. 

Over the years, the eastern regional project has resulted in the release of many commercially important potato varieties (e.g. Atlantic, Andover, Harley Blackwell, Kanona, Keuka Gold, MaineStay, Marcy, Monticello, Pike, and Sunrise).  Peter Wilcox, a purple-skinned yellow-fleshed specialty variety from the USDA-ARS program, and Lehigh, a yellow-fleshed dual-purpose variety from NY, are two of the more recent releases from the eastern programs.  Lamoka (NY139), Waneta (NY138),  and Red Maria (NY129) are three 2010-2011 releases that are attracting commercial interest.  Elkton (B1992-106) was released in 2012, while Sebec (AF0338-17) and Easton (AF3001-6) were released in early 2014.  Potato seed multiplication and commercial adoption are slow processes, so it will take years to know the full impacts of these varieties on eastern potato production.  To facilitate the adoption process, ME coordinated 19 commercial-scale trials representing 10 new potato varieties (4 chippers, 1 round-white, 2 russets, 1 red, and 2 specialty types) and 92 acres during 2014.  Additional commercial trials were conducted in the other participating states.  

Recent variety releases from the eastern group or those introduced to the east by our trial network were produced on 1510 ME and NY seed acres during 2014 with a potential seed value of $3.6M.  The resulting seed crop had the potential to plant 12021 acres in 2015 with a ware value  estimated at $36.1M.  Over a longer time frame, 30 of the ~120 varieties listed in the ME and NY certified seed directories were released by the Eastern programs since 1990. These releases represent 2095 seed acres with a potential seed value of $6.3M.  This seed crop had the potential to plant 18,305 acres in 2015 with a projected value of $55.2M.   If these varieties perform well their production will expand over time.   Depending on the characteristics of the specific potato variety, the potential benefits of adoption include new marketing opportunities, more efficient processing, higher yields, better nutritional value, reduced pesticide costs, and less risk of losses to stress, diseases, and pests.

Outputs:

1. Cultivars released this year:

Sebec (tested as AF0338-17) is a widely-adapted, mid-season, high yielding, round white for out-of-field chipping and fresh market.  Sebec was released in January 2014 by the University of Maine.  Plant variety protection has been granted and it is licensed by the Maine Potato Board.  Commercialization is underway.  Total yields in Maine trials were very high, averaging 365 cwt/A (105% of Atlantic), while US#1 yields averaged 310 cwt/A (107% of Atlantic).  Tuber specific gravity averaged 1.081 in Maine trials compared to 1.089 for Atlantic.  Sebec tubers are large (like Atlantic), but it has had a low incidence of tuber hollow heart (3.5% versus 15.4% for Atlantic).  Sebec has performed well in the S.E. and mid-Atlantic states with yields averaging near those of Atlantic.  Specific gravity has averaged 4 points lower than Atlantic in these growing areas.  Sebec has chipped well from the field and has had much lower incidence of internal defects than Atlantic.  It does not chip well from storage.  It is moderately susceptible to scab, but has moderate verticillium resistance.  Boiled and baked quality for fresh market has been acceptable.

Easton (tested as AF3001-6) is a widely adapted, late maturing, long-white with netted skin, very good fry color, and high yields.  Easton was released in January 2014 by the University of Maine.  Plant variety protection has been granted and it is licensed by the Maine Potato Board.  Commercialization is underway.  Easton is very good baked, boiled, and mashed.  Total yields in Maine trials were very high, averaging 369 cwt/A (114% of Russet Burbank), while US#1 yields averaged 330 cwt/A (130% of Russet Burbank).  Specific gravity is moderate averaging 1.080 in ME trials and has been quite similar to the Russet Burbank standard.  Fry color from storage has been excellent.  Easton tubers are large, but it has had a low incidence of tuber hollow heart (2.1% versus 13.8% for Russet Burbank).  It has been an outstanding performer in the national fry processing trials (NFPT).  It is moderately susceptible to scab, but has good verticillium resistance. Susceptibility to shatter bruise and tuber decay under Northeast conditions has been the most serious concern so far for this variety. 

Publications:

Journal Articles

Haynes, K.G., X. Qu, and B.J. Christ. 2014. Two cycles of recurrent maternal half-sib selection reduce foliar late blight in a diploid hybrid Solanum phureja – S. stenotomum population by two-thirds.  Amer. J. Potato Res. 91:254-259.

Haynes, K.G., D.M. Gergela, X.S. Qu, M.W. Peck, G.C. Yencho, M.E. Clough, M.R. Henninger, D.E. Halseth, G.A. Porter, P.C. Ocaya, L. Zotarelli, S.R. Menasha, B.J. Christ, L. Wanner, C.M. Hutchinson. 2014. Elkton: A new potato variety with resistance to internal heat necrosis and hollow heart and suitable for chipping directly from the field in the southern United States. Amer. J. Potato Res. 91:269-276.

Zotarelli, L., L.R. Rens, D.J. Cantliffe, D. Gergela, P. Stoffella, D. Fourman. 2014. Nitrogen fertilizer rate and application timing for chipping Potato ‘Atlantic’. Agronomy Journal. 106: 2215-2226.

Peer-reviewed Extension Publications:

Zotarelli, L., D. Gergela, D. Fourman. 2014. University of Florida Potato Variety Trial Program: ‘Elkton’ commercial evaluation. Horticultural Sciences Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida HS1253. 4p. EDIS Publication. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hs1253

Zotarelli, L., D. Gergela, K. Haynes, D. Fourman. 2014. University of Florida Potato Variety Spotlight: ‘Elkton’. Horticultural Sciences Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. EDIS Publication HS1237. 4p. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hs1237

Byrd, S.A., D. L. Rowland, L. Zotarelli. 2014. Growth stages and tuber development of FL1867 in Florida. Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. EDIS Publication SS-AGR-383. 3p. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ag388

Published Abstracts

Gergela, D., L. Zotarelli, K. Haynes, and G.A. Porter.   2014.  Effect of in-row seed spacing on yield, internal and external quality, and specfici gravity of Atlantic, Harley Blackwell, and Elkton grown in Florida. Am J Potato Res 91:48 (abst).

Porter, G.A., P. Ocaya, and T.Mills   2014. A comparison of three potassium fertilization programs. Proceedings of the University of Maine Cooperative Extension Potato Conference, Caribou, ME. January 24, 2014 (abstr.).

Porter, G.A., P. Ocaya, and T.Mills   2014.  Update on new potato varieties.  Proceedings of the University of Maine Cooperative Extension Potato Conference, Caribou, ME. January 24, 2014 (abstr.).

Technical Articles or Reports, not refereed

De Jong, W., D. Halseth, M. Falise, and S. Menasha.  2014.  New York potato breeding program ‘show and tell” grower report, 2014.  Research Report, Cornell Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, 40 pp.

Halseth, D.E., Sandsted, E.R., and J.M. Kelly.  2015.  2014 Upstate New York potato variety trials and cultural practice experiments.  Cornell University, Department of Horticulture Report No. 85, 56 pages

Kleinhenz, M.D., J.B. Moyseenko, S.D. Walker, and B. Williams.  2014.  Ohio Potato Germplasm Evaluation Report, 2014.  The Ohio State University, Horticulture and Crop Science Series No 821, 20 pp.

Porter, G.A., P. Ocaya, B. MacFarline, and B. Plummer.  2014.  Potato variety trial results in Maine, 2014 growing season.   SFA Research Report (posted on www and distributed to industry), 2014-01, 42 pp.

Porter, G.A., P. Ocaya, and T. Mills.  2014.   Maine potato breeding program annual report,  2014 growing season.   SFA Research Report (posted on www and distributed to industry), 20 pp.

Qu, X. and B.J. Christ.  2014.  Pensylvania Potato Research Report, 2014.  Dept of Plant Pathology & Environmental Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 42 pp.

Yencho, G.C. and M.E. Clough. 2014. North Carolina Potato Variety Trial and Breeding Report, 2014. NC State University, Raleigh, NC. 46 pp. < http://potatoes.ncsu.edu/Reports.html

Zotarelli, L.  2014. Florida Potato Variety Trial Report, 2014. University of Florida, Horticultural Sciences Department. Report. 138 pages. The book is also available at: http://hos.ufl.edu/extension/variety-trials/variety-trial-crops/potatoes