Prospect

Potato

Variety Description

Variety used for comparison: 'Shepody'

Summary: 'Prospect' has darker leaf colour than 'Shepody'. 'Prospect' has a higher number of secondary and tertiary leaflets than 'Shepody'. 'Prospect' has a lower flowering profusion than 'Shepody'. 'Prospect' produces a high number of berries while 'Shepody' does not produce berries. The tubers of 'Prospect' have buff coloured skin while the tubers of 'Shepody' have white skin. 'Prospect' has wider, thicker tubers than 'Shepody'. The light sprout tip has a more open habit for 'Prospect' than for 'Shepody'.

Description:

'Prospect' is a mid-season maturing potato variety which has a semi-erect growth habit, short plant height and produces a leaf type plant. The stems are thick and have no anthocyanin colouration. The stem wings are prominent and are waved double. The nodes have no swelling and have absent to very weak anthocyanin. 'Prospect' has a very strong branching habit.

The leaves are medium to dark green in colour and have medium pubescence on the lower surface. The leaf silhouette is medium to open. The leaf rachis has no anthocyanin on the upper and lower side. The rachis has very sparse pubescence on the upper side and no pubescence on the lower side. The petiole has no anthocyanin. The leaf stipules are medium in size. 'Prospect' has a narrowly ovate terminal leaflet with an acute to acuminate shaped tip and obtuse to cordate, strongly asymmetrical base. The leaf margin is moderately wavy. There are five to six pairs of primary leaflets which are small to medium in size. The primary leaflets are narrowly ovate in shape with an acute to acuminate shaped tip and an obtuse to cordate, moderately asymmetrical base.

'Prospect' has a low flowering profusion and produces a low to medium number of florets per inflorescence. The flower buds are persistent and have weak anthocyanin. The flowers of 'Prospect' are red-violet in colour. The inner side of the corolla has medium anthocyanin and there is anthocyanin present on the outer side. The corolla is small to medium in size and has a prominent star. The calyx has weak anthocyanin and the puduncle has no anthocyanin. The anthers are yellow in colour and arranged in a broad cone shape. There is abundant pollen which is fertile. The stigma is capitate in shape and medium green in colour. Berry production is high.

The tubers have yellow to buff coloured skin. The skin texture is smooth, becoming rough with maturity. The tubers are oblong in shape. The tuber eyes are shallow to intermediate in depth and there are a medium number of evenly distributed eyes per tuber. The tuber eyebrows are slightly prominent. The tuber flesh is white to cream in colour. 'Prospect' produces a medium number of tubers per plant.

'Prospect' has a broad cylindrical shaped light sprout. The light sprout base has strong pubescence and moderate, red-violet anthocyanin. The light sprout tip has a medium habit and strong pubescence. The tip has medium to strong, red-violet anthocyanin. There are a medium to high number of light sprout root initials and protrusion of lenticels is weak. The lateral shoots are short in length.

Origin & Breeding History: 'Prospect' originated from a cross between 'Shepody' and 'Russette', made by Joyce Coffin on Prince Edward Island in 1990. True potato seed was planted directly in the field in 1992 and progeny from the original selection was maintained under field conditions from 1992 to the present. Selection criteria included tuber shape, yield, drought tolerance, french fry quality and field resistance to Potato Virus Y. 'Prospect' was tested under the experimental designation LL 90-50-4-1.

Tests & Trials: Trials for 'Prospect' were conducted near Grand Falls, New Brunswick in 2003. A randomized block design was used with four replicates per variety. All entries were planted in single-row plots which were 5.7 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 'Prospect' with reference variety 'Shepody'

Number of secondary and tertiary leaflets

Colour of corolla (RHS)

Tuber width (mm)

Tuber thickness (mm)