MSU potato breeder’s chipping variety given commercial production nod

Michigan State University potato breeder David Douches been notified by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that his genetically engineered Kal91.3 chipping variety has been approved for commercial production.

The variety received exempt status from the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) from biotechnology regulations in 2024 after it was deemed that it would not pose an increased plant pest risk relative to its conventionally bred counterpart.

A 2024 report from MSU AgBioResearch provided more details about the variety. MSU professor Jiming Jiang helped in identifying the gene that was used to develop Kal91.3.

Bred from an MSU potato variety named Kalkaska, the Kal91.3 potato can be stored in cool temperatures for long periods of time without sucrose, resulting in minimization of off-color browning and caramelization.

According to the Michigan Potato Industry Commission’s April 8 Michigan Potatoes Industry update, Kal91.3 is being renamed “Lodi” in a nod to Iott Seed Farms in Kalkaska. A general store near the farm features a prominent statue of a bunny named Lodi, which is also the name Seed Farms president Ralph Iott gave a stray dog he once adopted.