True Potato Seeds (TPS), SA-450, 100 seeds

This batch of seed will be the last for SA-450, which I will no longer grow after 2025.

SA-450 is a Peruvian tetraploid potato with red skin and white flesh with excellent flavor.  It produces high yields, even under long day length, which is somewhat uncommon among Andean potatoes.  SA-450 is a collector’s number; while this variety probably has a native name, it has been lost.

SA-450 was provided by the USDA Potato Introduction Station as PI 619137.

Culinary Traits

SA-450 makes attractive red, smooth-skinned tubers, mostly in the 2 to 4 inch range.  They have a nice, nutty flavor and moist flesh, which would probably be good for boiling and mashing.

Agronomic Traits

Plants are very large, with a late maturity, but they will produce good yields even during the long days of summer here.  I would not be surprised if yields are even better in the fall.  Some of the tubers showed signs of sprouting at harvest, which is fairly common with varieties that prefer short days.  The unsprouted tubers appear to have normal dormancy though.  I saw no signs of scab in this variety.  Flowering is moderate, but the plants flower for a long time – almost three months here – so the berry production is ultimately pretty good.  The flowers appeared to be self-fertile to me.  Plants have a stolon mat, which, in my experience, can help to protect against voles getting at the tubers.

True Seed (TPS)

TPS was collected in 2020 and was open pollinated.  I did hit it with some supplemental pollen, primarily from blue flesh and yellow flesh varieties.  I’m not sure what to expect from this seed.  Based on what I know of the genetics, most of the tubers will probably be round and, because this variety appears to be capable of self-pollination, many of them should be red.  But, given the outcrossing, just about anything is possible.

Material Transfer Agreement

The germplasm was provided to the NPGS by the International Potato Center (CIP) where it is held in trust under the terms of an agreement with FAO. As per terms of the FAO-CIP agreement, it was provided with the understanding that it is freely available for any agricultural research or breeding purposes. No recipient can claim ownership over the germplasm received or obtain Intellectual Property Rights on it or related information. Recipients may reproduce the material and distribute it to other parties provided they are also willing to accept the conditions of this agreement. The material is supplied expressly conditional on acceptance of the terms of the FAO-CIP agreement. The recipient’s retention of the material constitutes such acceptance.

Germination

2024