Texas A&M field day to feature new variety

The annual Potato Field Day in the High Plains featuring the Texas A&M University AgriLife Potato Breeding and Variety Development Program will be July 21.

The program is jointly hosted by Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Bruce Barrett, owner of Barrett Farm.

Attendees should assemble at 10 a.m. at Springlake Potato Sales, located 12.5 miles north of Littlefield and 8.5 miles south of Springlake on State Highway 385, said Creighton Miller, AgriLife Research potato breeder in College Station.

The program/tour will then move to a location on the Barrett Farm, where Miller has 210 different potato varieties for viewing, including the newly released Harlequin Gold. He will also provide a progress report on the program, including last year’s release of Reveille Russet.

He said side-by-side planting of each variety allows digging of one row of tubers for viewing at the field day, while leaving the second row for plant canopy observation. A field book will be provided with information growers might want for each variety.

Julien Levy, postdoctoral research associate; Cecilia Tamborindeguy, entomologist; and Douglas Scheuring, senior research associate, all participants with the Texas-based zebra chip initiative in College Station, will discuss current research and issues.

Barrett will provide an overview of his current production season, and representatives from various potato seed companies will also be present.

— Kay Ledbetter, Texas A&M University

Source: Texas A&M AgriLife