Juliette

Potato

Variety Description

Varieties used for comparison: 'Agria' and 'Banana'

Summary: 'Juliette' has a taller plant height than 'Banana'. 'Juliette' has a thinner main stem than 'Agria'. 'Juliette' has a longer leaf length than 'Banana'. 'Juliette' has no anthocyanin in the petiole while 'Agria' has strong anthocyanin. 'Juliette' has white flowers while 'Banana' has red-violet flowers. 'Juliette' has a smaller corolla size than the reference varieties. 'Juliette' has a cylindrical shaped tuber while 'Agria' has an oblong tuber and 'Banana' has a very narrow long tuber. 'Juliette' has dark yellow flesh while 'Banana' has light yellow flesh. 'Juliette' has a larger light sprout than 'Banana'. 'Juliette' has an ovoid shaped light sprout while 'Banana' has a spherical shaped light sprout. 'Juliette' has strong anthocyanin on the base of the light sprout while 'Agria' has very strong anthocyanin and 'Banana' has no anthocyanin. 'Juliette' has denser pubescence on the light sprout base and tip than 'Banana'. 'Juliette' has a more open light sprout tip habit and weaker anthocyanin on the tip than the reference varieties.

Description:

'Juliette' has a semi-upright growth habit and produces a leaf type plant. The stems are thin and have weak anthocyanin colouration which is located in the leaf axils. The nodes have low swelling.

'Juliette' has light green leaves and an intermediate leaf silhouette. The leaf rachis and petiole have no anthocyanin colouration. The terminal leaflet is medium ovate in shape with an acute to acuminate shaped tip and obtuse shaped base. The terminal and lateral leaflets have an absent or very low frequency of coalescence. The lateral leaflets are medium in size and are narrowly ovate in shape with an acute shaped tip and obtuse shaped base. The leaf veins are shallow in depth. The terminal and lateral leaflets have weak waviness of the margin and have medium glossiness of the upper surface. The leaf blades have weak to medium pubescence at the apical rosette. The presence of secondary leaflets is weak to medium.

"Juliette' has a medium flowering profusion and small inflorescence size. The flower buds are strongly persistent and have absent to weak anthocyanin. The corolla is white in colour, small in size and has a moderately prominent star. The peduncle has no anthocyanin.

The tubers have yellow skin with yellow colour at the base of the eye. The skin develops medium anthocyanin colouration when exposed to light. The skin texture is smooth and the tubers are cylindrical in shape. The tuber eyes are shallow to intermediate in depth and are evenly distributed. The tuber eyebrows are slightly prominent. The tuber flesh is dark yellow in colour with no secondary colour present.

'Juliette' has a medium sized light sprout which is ovoid in shape. The light sprout base has strong anthocyanin with a medium proportion of blue. The base has dense pubescence. The tip of the light sprout is smaller in size in relation to the base. The tip has an intermediate habit and has medium anthocyanin colouration. The tip has dense pubescence. There are a low number of root tips and the lateral roots are medium in length.

Origin & Breeding History: 'Juliette' originated from a cross between 'Nicola' and 'Hansa', made in Châteaûneuf-du-Faôu, France in 1985. Trials were conducted in Europe from 1987 to 1994. Selection criteria included yield, resistance to pests and diseases and quality characteristics.

Tests & Trials: Trials for 'Juliette' were conducted in North Tilley, New Brunswick in 2004. A randomized block design was used with four replicates per variety. All entries were planted in single-row plots and each entry had one replicate per block. Plots consisted of rows 5.5 meters long and between row spacing of 91 cm. Measured characteristics were based on 10 measurements. Colour determinations were made using the RHS colour chart.

Comparison tables for 'Juliette' with reference varieties 'Agria' and 'Banana'

Plant height (cm)

Leaf length (cm)

Colour of corolla (RHS)