Nicolet
General Information
Parentage: Snowden x S440
Developers: University of Wisconsin – Madison
Plant Variety Protection: Pending
Incentives for production: Maintains chip quality at least a month longer than Snowden from 45°F storage, due to a later increase in sugars. Yield potential is high, similar to Snowden. Better tuber shape and uniformity than Snowden.
Morphological Characteristics
Plant: Medium late, large and vigorous semi-erect vines with white flowers. Plants produce four to six stems per hill.
Tubers: Round oval shape, slightly flattened, smoother than Snowden, with shallower eyes. Tuber flesh is white. Uniform tuber size. May initiate tubers prior to Snowden. Good internal quality. Lower total glycolakaloid content compared to Snowden.
Agronomic Characteristics
Vine Maturity: Full-season cultivar with earlier maturity than Snowden.
Yield Potential: High, similar to Snowden. Percent US No. 1 tubers also similar to Snowden.
Specific Gravity: High; consistently greater than 1.080 and usually intermediate between Snowden and Atlantic.
Utilization: Chipping cultivar to replace Snowden and other cultivars with long-term cold storage potential.
Diseases/Pests/Physiological Disorders: Moderate tolerance to Verticillium wilt. Commom scab susceptibility similar to Snowden. Will senesce earlier than Snowden under early blight pressure.
Storability: Good chip color after harvest and from 45-48°F storage September through May or June, in years that Snowden goes off-color during March or April.
Cultural Information: Tolerant of metribuzin applications. Nitrogen requirements may be similar to Snowden.
Strengths: High yield potential similar to Snowden. Medium to long-term storage chipper from 45-48°F. Very good internal quality and low glycoalkaloid content. Good appearance and tuber size profile.
Weaknesses: No major weaknesses.
Seed Availability: Certified seed is available from Wisconsin seed producers. Licenses to grow seed of Nicolet can be obtained from the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation.
Cultivar Corner is edited by Susie Thompson, associate professor and potato breeder at North Dakota State University; Gregory Porter, professor of agronomy at the University of Maine; and Mark Pavek, associate professor and Extension horticulturist at Washington State University.
