Lady Claire

Potato

Variety Description

Varieties used for comparison: 'Lady Olympia', 'Yukon Gold', 'Russet Burbank' and 'Atlantic'

Summary: 'Lady Claire' produces a shorter plant than the reference varieties. 'Lady Claire' has more primary leaflets than the reference varieties and more secondary and tertiary leaflets than 'Atlantic' and 'Yukon Gold'. 'Lady Claire' has white flowers while 'Atlantic' and 'Yukon Gold' have red-violet flowers. The tubers of 'Lady Claire' have light yellow skin while the tubers of 'Atlantic' have buff skin and 'Yukon Gold' has yellow skin. 'Lady Claire' has weaker anthocyanin on the light sprout base than the reference varieties. 'Lady Claire' has less pubescence on the light sprout tip than the reference varieties and weaker anthocyanin on the tip than 'Lady Olympia'.

Description:

'Lady Claire' is a mid to late season maturing potato variety which has an erect growth habit. 'Lady Claire' produces a short, stem type plant. The stems are medium to thick and have weak to medium anthocyanin colouration. Stem wings are moderately prominent and straight single. The stem nodes have medium swelling and no anthocyanin. 'Lady Claire' produces a moderate number of branches.

The leaves of 'Lady Claire' are medium green in colour and have medium to strong pubescence on the lower surface. The leaf silhouette is open. The leaf rachis has weak anthocyanin on the top and no anthocyanin on the bottom. The rachis has moderate pubescence on the top and bottom. The petioles have weak anthocyanin and the stipules are medium in size. The terminal leaflets are medium ovate in shape with acuminate shaped tips and obtuse shaped, moderate to strongly asymmetrical bases. The margins of the terminal leaflets have weak to medium waviness. 'Lady Claire' has five pairs of primary leaflets which are medium in size. They are elliptical in shape with acuminate shaped tips and obtuse shaped bases.

'Lady Claire' produces a medium number of inflorescences per plant and a medium number of florets per inflorescence. The flower buds have weak anthocyanin and are weakly persistent. When fully expanded, the flowers are white in colour. The corolla is medium in size with a prominent star. The calyx and peduncle have weak anthocyanin colouration. The anthers are lemon yellow in colour when the flower is fully expanded and are arranged in a narrow shaped cone. The stigma is clavate and light green in colour.

The tubers of 'Lady Claire' have light yellow skin with no secondary colour. Skin texture is rough and tuber shape is round to oval. Tuber eyes are shallow in depth, intermediate in number and predominantly apical in distribution. The eyebrows are moderately prominent. The tuber flesh is light yellow in colour with no secondary colour. 'Lady Claire' produces a medium number of tubers per plant.

The light sprout of 'Lady Claire' is conical in shape with medium pubescence and weak, blue-violet anthocyanin colouration at the base. The light sprout tip habit is closed. The tip has weak pubescence and weak, blue-violet anthocyanin. The light sprout has a medium frequency of root initials and medium protrusion of lenticels. The lateral shoots on the light sprout are medium in length.

Origin & Breeding History: 'Lady Claire' originated from a cross between 'Agria' and KW 78-34-470, made in Rilland, The Netherlands in 1986.

Tests & Trials: Tests and trials for 'Lady Claire' were conducted at Summerside, P.E.I. in 1999. A randomized block design was used. There were four replicates per variety with four rows per replicate.

Comparison table for 'Lady Claire' with reference varieties 'Lady Olympia', 'Yukon Gold', 'Russet Burbank' and 'Atlantic'

Secondary and tertiary leaflets