Rande's Golden Gem

Potato

Variety Description

Varieties used for comparison: 'Red Pontiac' and 'Kennebec'

Summary: 'Rande's Golden Gem' has a taller plant height than the reference varieties. 'Rande's Golden Gem' has smaller leaves and stronger waviness of the leaflet margin than the reference varieties. 'Rande's Golden Gem' has blue-violet flowers while 'Red Pontiac' has red violet flowers and 'Kennebec' has white flowers. The tuber skin of 'Rande's Golden Gem' is light beige and red parti-coloured while the skin of 'Red Pontiac' is red and the skin of 'Kennebec' is yellow. 'Rande's Golden Gem' has light yellow tuber flesh while 'Red Pontiac' has white tuber flesh. 'Rande's Golden Gem' has an ovoid shaped light sprout while 'Red Pontiac' has a broad cylindrical light sprout and 'Kennebec' has a spherical light sprout. 'Rande's Golden Gem' has stronger anthocyanin on the base and tip of the light sprout than the reference varieties.

Description:

PLANT: upright growth habit, stem type foliage structure, late time of maturity

STEM: no anthocyanin colouration, thin in thickness, nodes with low degree of swelling

LEAVES: light green, closed silhouette, absent or very weak anthocyanin colouration on upper side of rachis and petiole, deep veins, very strong waviness of margin, dull on upper side, pubescence present, strong presence of secondary leaflets
TERMINAL LEAFLET: medium ovate shape, acuminate tip, acute base, absent or very low frequency of coalescence
LATERAL LEAFLETS: large size, medium ovate shape, acuminate tip, obtuse base

INFLORESCENCE: absent or very low flowering profusion, medium inflorescence size, flower buds not persistent, weak anthocyanin colouration in flower bud
COROLLA: blue-violet, weak to medium anthocyanin colouration on inner surface, small to medium size, moderately prominent star, absent or very weak anthocyanin in peduncle

TUBER: skin light beige and red parti-coloured, base of eye yellow and red, absent or very weak anthocyanin colouration on skin in reaction to light, smooth skin texture, oval shape, shallow depth of eyes, eyes evenly distributed, eyebrows slightly prominent, flesh light yellow with no secondary colour

LIGHT SPROUT: small, ovoid shape, low number of root tips, short lateral shoots
BASE: very strong anthocyanin with low proportion of blue, medium pubescence
TIP: smaller than base, closed habit, strong anthocyanin colouration, medium pubescence.

Origin & Breeding History: 'Rande's Golden Gem' was discovered in a field of 'Kennebec' and 'Red Pontiac', at Golden, British Columbia in 1986. The exact parentage is unknown. The variety was grown each year after it was discovered and tested at the Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada Research Station in Lethbridge, Alberta.

Tests & Trials: 'Rande's Golden Gem' was tested in Golden, British Columbia in 2005. The trial included 30 plants of each variety grown in 3 replications with 10 plants/replication. Spacing between plants was 30 cm and spacing between rows was 60 cm. Measured characteristics were based on ten measurements. The light sprout characteristics were taken in trials conducted in Fredericton, New Brunswick in February, 2006.

Comparison tables for 'Rande's Golden Gem' with reference varieties 'Red Pontiac' and 'Kennebec'

Plant height (cm)

Leaf length (cm)

Leaf width (cm)

Click on image for larger view

Potato: 'Rande's Golden Gem' (center) with reference varieties 'Red Pontiac' (left) and 'Kennebec' (right)