Cultivar Corner: Blackberry’s purple skin, flesh make it ideal for specialty potato market

Blackberry (MSZ109-10PP)

Parentage: COMN07-W112BG1 x MSU200-5PP

Developers: Michigan State University and MSU AgBio Research (potatobg.css.msu.edu)

Strengths: Blackberry is a tablestock variety with unique purple skin and a deep purple flesh. The tubers have an attractive, uniform, round shape and purple flesh with low incidence of internal defects. Yield can be high under irrigated conditions. Blackberry will also chip process out of the field.

Plant variety protection: To be applied for

Morphological Characteristics

Plant: Full-sized vine, semi-erect with a balance between stems and foliage visible and flowers.

Tubers: Round109-10PP tubers with a smooth skin and purple skin and purple flesh color. Tubers have a deep purple flesh with a low incidence of internal defects.

Agronomic Characteristics

Maturity: Mid-season

Tubers: Round tubers with purple skin and purple flesh

Yield: Average to above average

Specific gravity: Averages 1.070 in Michigan

Culinary quality: Chip processes from short- through long-term storage

Foliage: Full-sized, semi-erect vine

Diseases: Some moderate common scab tolerance

RELATED: Other recent Cultivar Corner features

Incentives for production

The unique purple skin and purple flesh of the tubers offer a unique potato that could lend itself to the specialty variety market, such as gourmet restaurants and food stores, as well as farm and roadside markets. The primary market for this clone will be farm market, direct retail sale growers and home gardeners. This variety is also used as a gourmet chip processing variety.

RELATED: Great Lakes Potato Chip to make Blackberry chip