Harmony

Potato

Variety Description

Variety used for comparison: 'Argos'

Summary: 'Harmony' has a more upright growth habit and shorter plant height than 'Argos'. 'Harmony' has a lighter green leaf colour than 'Argos'. 'Harmony' has no anthocyanin on the leaf rachis and petiole while 'Argos' has medium to strong anthocyanin. 'Harmony' has weaker anthocyanin on the light sprout base than 'Argos'.

Description:

'Harmony' has an upright growth habit and produces an intermediate type plant. The stems are thin to medium and have medium to strong anthocyanin colouration which is located in the leaf axils and on the lower part of the stem. The nodes have absent to very low swelling.

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

'Harmony' has a low flowering profusion and a medium inflorescence size. The flower buds are strongly persistent and have very strong anthocyanin colouration. The corolla is red violet in colour with strong anthocyanin on the inner surface. The corolla is medium in size and has a moderately prominent star. The peduncle has strong anthocyanin colouration.

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 round to oval in shape. The tuber eyes are shallow in depth and are predominately apical in distribution. The tuber eyebrows are not prominent. The tuber flesh is cream in colour with no secondary colour present.

'Harmony' has a small sized light sprout which is spherical in shape. The light sprout base has strong anthocyanin with a medium proportion of blue. The base has sparse to medium pubescence. The tip of the light sprout is equal in size to the base. The tip has a closed habit and has medium anthocyanin colouration. The tip has medium pubescence. There are a medium number of root tips and the lateral roots are short in length.

Origin & Breeding History: 'Harmony' originated from a cross between 'Nadine' and 'Stamina', made in 1988 at Caithness Potato Breeders, United Kingdom.

Tests & Trials: Trials for 'Harmony' 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 'Harmony' with reference variety 'Argos'

Plant height (cm)

Colour of corolla (RHS)