
For more details,
seeAgricultural Research. New Tubers
Offered for Growers and GardenersBy Marcia Wood December 15, 2000An attractive, new, red-skinned
potato called IdaRose tastes great and is perfect for producing at home or on
the farm. Agricultural Research Servicescientists Dennis L. Corsini at Aberdeen, Idaho, and Joseph J. Pavek, now
retired, worked with university colleagues to develop the new variety. IdaRose is ideal for home gardeners because it stores unusually well in a
low cupboard or cool, dark, dry corner in the basement. In contrast, some kinds
of potatoes tend to sprout soon after theyre stored at home. Corsini and Pavek singled out IdaRose from other promising potatoes in 1984.
After that, growers and university specialists in the western United States put
the potato through more than a decade of rigorous tests. In nearly all trials,
IdaRose produced just as many top-grade spuds as the widely-grown Red LaSoda
red-skinned potato. IdaRose had a lower incidence of unsightly internal defects
than Red LaSoda. And IdaRose consistently had the right balance of starch and
water needed to ensure that the spud holds together well when steamed or
boiled. Currently, more than a dozen farmers produce IdaRose seed potatoes. Most are
sold to growers to start the following year's crop of IdaRose tubers for sale
in supermarkets. But some seed tubers are bought for selling to home gardeners.
Corsini says nearly all leading retail nurseries in Idaho's larger cities stock
IdaRose for backyard gardeners. IdaRose is one of several new varieties of potatoes that the ARS scientists
at Aberdeen--in collaboration with researchers at
Oregon State University, the
University of Idaho, and
Washington State Universityhave
released within the past few years. IdaRose will be licensed through the
University of Idaho. For more details, see the December issue of ARS magazine, Agricultural Research. ARS is the U.S. Department of
Agriculture's chief scientific research agency. Scientific contact: Dennis L. Corsini, ARS Small Grains and Potato
Germplasm Research Unit, Aberdeen, Idaho, phone (208) 397-4181, fax (208)
397-4165, [email protected]. Story contacts Marcia A Wood U.S. Department of Agriculture |