Determining Yellow-flesh Intensity in Potatoes

Abstract

For the yellow-flesh fresh market, potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) varieties with intense yellow flesh are desired. Twenty-five yellow-flesh clones, including 24 U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) selections and the check variety `Yukon Gold', were evaluated for tuber yellow-flesh color, as measured by a reflectance colorimeter, and for individual tuber weight in replicated field trials in Presque Isle, Maine, in 1991 and 1992. There were significant differences among clones for yellow-flesh intensity. Yellow-flesh intensity in two USDA selections was significantly less than in `Yukon Gold'. In four USDA selections, yellow-flesh intensity was significantly greater than in `Yukon Gold'. In general, there was an inverse relationship between tuber weight and yellow-flesh intensity. Subsamples of tubers whose weight fell between the 10 to 90, 25 to 75, 35 to 65, and 40 to 60 percentile were compared to the full sample. There was good agreement between the 10 to 90 and 25 to 75 percentile subsample and the full sample regarding the average yellow-flesh intensity and in the consistency of pairwise comparisons between individual selections and `Yukon Gold'. For determining yellow-flesh intensity, the 25 to 75 percentile subsample was as informative as the full sample.