Miriam

Potato

Variety Description

Varieties used for comparison: 'Russet Burbank', 'Estima' and 'Agria'

Summary: 'Miriam' has no anthocyanin in the petiole while 'Russet Burbank' has weak anthocyanin and 'Agria' has strong anthocyanin. 'Miriam' has more secondary and tertiary leaflets than the reference varieties. 'Miriam' has red-violet flowers while the reference varieties have white flowers. The tubers of 'Miriam' have yellow skin colour while the tubers of 'Russet Burbank' have buff skin colour. The tuber flesh is dark yellow for 'Miriam' while it is white for 'Russet Burbank' and light yellow for 'Estima'. The light sprout of 'Miriam' has red-violet anthocyanin while 'Estima' has no anthocyanin and 'Agria' has blue-violet anthocyanin.

Description:

'Miriam' has a semi-erect habit and produces a plant type which is intermediate between stem and leaf. Plant height is short to medium. The stems have absent to weak anthocyanin colouration and are medium in thickness. The stem wings are moderately prominent and waved single. The stem nodes have absent to slight swelling and no anthocyanin. 'Miriam' produces a high number of branches.

The leaves are medium green in colour and have moderate pubescence on the lower surface. The leaf silhouette is moderate between closed and open. The top and bottom of the leaf rachis has no anthocyanin colouration. The top of the rachis has moderate pubescence and the bottom has no pubescence. The leaf petioles have no anthocyanin and the stipules are large in size. The terminal leaflet is narrow ovate in shape with an acute to acuminate shaped tip and obtuse to cordate shaped, moderately asymmetrical base. The terminal leaflet has weak to medium waviness. There are six pairs of primary leaflets which are small in size. The primary leaflets are narrowly ovate in shape with an acute shaped tip and cordate shaped, very weakly asymmetrical base.

'Miriam' produces a medium number of inflorescences per plant and a medium number of florets per inflorescence. The flower bud has no anthocyanin and the buds are strongly persistent. The flowers are red-violet with weak to medium anthocyanin on the inner and outer side of the corolla. The corolla is medium in size and has a moderately prominent star. The calyx has weak anthocyanin colouration and the peduncle has no anthocyanin colouration. The anthers are orange in colour when the flower is fully expanded and are arranged in a narrow shaped cone. The stigma is capitate and medium green in colour.

The tubers of 'Miriam' have yellow coloured skin with no secondary colour. Skin texture is smooth to rough and tuber shape is oval. Tuber eyes are shallow in depth, intermediate in number and predominantly apical in distribution. The eyebrows are slightly prominent. The tuber flesh is dark yellow in colour with no secondary colour.

The light sprout of 'Miriam' is conical in shape with strong pubescence and strong, red-violet anthocyanin colouration at the base. The light sprout tip habit is moderate between closed and open. The tip has strong pubescence and medium, red-violet anthocyanin. The light sprout has a low frequency of root initials and medium protrusion of lenticels. The lateral shoots on the light sprout are medium to long in length.

Origin & Breeding History: 'Miriam' originated from a cross between 'Culpa' and (ST 6948 x 2006), made in Germany in 1979. The selection process utilized screening of negative agronomic characteristics.

Tests & Trials: Tests and trials for 'Miriam' were conducted at Grand Falls, New Brunswick in 2001. A randomized block design was used with four replicates per variety. All entries were planted in single-row plots which were 5.5 metres long. Spacing between adjacent plots was 91 cm and spacing between plants was 30.5 cm. Measured characteristics were based on 20 measurements.

Comparison tables for 'Miriam' with reference varieties 'Russet Burbank', 'Estima' and 'Agria'

Number of secondary and tertiary leaflets

Colour of corolla