This profile appears in the May 2018 issue of Potato Grower.
With the help of our longtime friends at the Potato Variety Management Institute, this month’s Smorgasbord takes a look at Targhee Russet, a long, medium-maturity, dual-purpose russet. Targhee Russet was developed by the Tri-State Breeding and Research Program and released in 2015, with PVP issued in 2017.
It is a darker-skinned russet variety that has shown higher total and marketable yields than Russet Burbank. In six full-season trials conducted at Aberdeen and Kimberly, Idaho, over a three-year period, total yield for Targhee Russet was 10 percent higher than Ranger Russet and 12 percent higher than Russet Burbank. U.S. No.1 yield was 21 percent higher than Ranger Russet and 54 percent higher than Russet Burbank.
Check www.pvmi.org for a full list of seed growers.
Parentage
Strengths
- Strong resistance to tuber soft rot
- Moderate resistance to common scab, Verticillium wilt and net necrosis associated with potato leafroll virus
- No tuber necrotic symptoms from PVYO, PVYNTN and PVYN-Wi/N:O strains
- Excellent resistance to hollow heart
- Less blackspot bruise than Ranger Russet
- Significantly higher tuber protein and vitamin C contents than Russet Burbank and Ranger Russet
Utilization
- Moderate specific gravity
- Good potential for producing quality frozen and fresh-cut fries
- Produces lighter-colored fries than Russet Burbank and Ranger Russet
- High fresh merit evaluation scores
Management
- Resistance to metribuzin herbicide
- Total seasonal nitrogen requirements about 10 to 20 percent less than for Russet Burbank
- Available soil moisture should be maintained between 70 and 85 percent.
- Susceptible to shatter bruise at harvest
- Dormancy in storage 50 to 60 days shorter than Russet Burbank
