Breeding progress for potato chip quality in North American cultivars

Forty-four potato cultivars, released in the period between 1876 and the present were grown concurrently in field trials, stored simultaneously in three different environments, then evaluated for chip quality. They represented cultivars historically used and/or bred for potato chip production. Quality factors measured were tuber solids, chip color, reducing sugar levels, sucrose levels, and percent of defect-free chips. Tuber solids tended to increase in the late period cultivars, but trends were erratic. The release of Lenape marked the beginning of an increase in tuber solids that has continued to the present. There was a significant trend for lower reducing sugars and better chip color that corresponded to increasingly later cultivar release dates. Since about 1960, progress toward lower reducing sugars and better chip color has been constant, regardless of whether tubers were stored at 4.4 C, stored at 4.4 C and reconditioned, or stored at 10 C. Late period cultivars tended to have a greater percentage of defect-free chips in comparison to those released earlier, with most of the improvement coming during the last few years. This study provided evidence that potato breeders have made significant progress in developing cultivars with good chip quality. Evidence was also found that Lenape was a landmark cultivar and has been an important contributor to the observed breeding progress.