Abeille

Potato

Variety Description

Varieties used for comparison: 'Atlantic', 'Kennebec' and 'Niska'

Summary: The plants of 'Abeille' have a semi-upright growth habit while those of 'Kennebec' are upright. 'Abeille' has shorter plants which mature earlier than 'Kennebec'. The leaves of 'Abeille' are dark green while those of 'Atlantic' and 'Niska' are olive green and those of 'Kennebec' are medium green. 'Abeille' has lower flowering profusion and smaller corollas than 'Atlantic' and 'Niska'. The colour of the inner side of the corolla is white for 'Abeille' while it is violet for 'Atlantic'. The tubers produced by 'Abeille' have yellow skin with medium yellow flesh while those of 'Atlantic' have buff skin with cream flesh and those of 'Kennebec' and 'Niska' have white skin with white flesh. The shape of the tubers for 'Abeille' is round while it is oblong for 'Kennebec' and compressed for 'Niska'. The light sprout of 'Abeille' is spherical in shape while 'Atlantic' has an ovoid shaped light sprout and 'Kennebec' and 'Niska' have conical shaped light sprouts. Anthocyanin colouration of the light sprout tip is blue violet of moderate intensity for 'Abeille' while it is of very weak intensity for 'Niska' and absent for 'Atlantic' and 'Kennebec'.

Description:

'Abeille' is a table and chipping potato variety which has a semi-upright growth habit. It produces a mostly stem type plant which is medium in height and matures mid-season. The stem is medium to thick and has weak anthocyanin colouration. The stem wings are prominent and straight single type. The stem nodes are moderately to strongly swollen with no anthocyanin colouration. 'Abeille' produces a moderate number of branches.

'Abeille' has dark green leaves with moderate to dense pubescence on the lower surface. The leaf silhouette is more open than closed. Anthocyanin colouration of the leaf rachis is absent at the apex and very weak at the base. The leaf rachis has dense to very dense pubescence at the apex and moderate to dense pubescence at the base. The petiole has no anthocyanin and the stipules are medium in size. The terminal leaflet is broad ovate in shape with an acuminate tip and cordate, mostly symmetric base. The margin of the terminal leaflet has moderate waviness. On average, there are four pairs of primary leaflets. The primary leaflets are large and medium ovate in shape with an acuminate tip and cordate, mostly symmetric base. On average, there are nine (9) secondary and tertiary leaflets.

'Abeille' has a low flowering profusion and produces a low number of florets per inflorescence. The flower buds have strong anthocyanin colouration and are moderately persistent. The flowers are white with no anthocyanin colouration on the inner side of the corolla and very weak anthocyanin on the outer side. The corolla is small with a weak to moderately prominent star. The calyx has moderate to strong anthocyanin colouration and the peduncle has weak anthocyanin. The anthers are bright yellow and arranged in a broad cone shape. They produce a very small amount of pollen. The dark green stigma is capitate in shape.

The tuber has predominantly yellow skin with no secondary colour. The skin texture is rough and flaky and the tuber shape is round. The tuber eyes are shallow, intermediate in number and evenly distributed. The tuber eyebrows are very slightly prominent. The flesh of the tubers is medium yellow with no secondary colour. There are a moderate to high number of tubers per plant. The tubers have a long dormancy period.

The light sprout is spherical in shape. The base of the light sprout has sparse to moderate pubescence and very weak intensity of blue-violet anthocyanin colouration. The habit of the light sprout tip is more closed than open. The tip is blue violet with no pubescence and moderate anthocyanin colouration. There are very few light sprout root initials and the protrusion of the lenticels is weak. The lateral shoots are short.

Origin & Breeding History: 'Abeille' (experimental designation QP89244.02) originated from a cross between the female parent 'Saginaw Gold', a mid-season, yellow skinned variety with excellent table and chipping quality from the genetic improvement program of the University of Guelph and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, and the male parent 'TATA9192-15', a clone from the genetic improvement program in Fredericton, New Brunswick which specializes in crosses between Solanum andigenum Juz. & Bukasov and S. tuberosum L. The cross took place at le Centre de recherche Les Buissons inc., Pointe-aux-Outardes, Québec in 1989. Criteria used by the breeder, Dr. Pierre Turcotte, in the selection of 'Abeille' were appearance, tuber size and shape, tuber skin colour and texture, colour of tuber flesh, depth of tuber eyes, yield, yield stability, specific gravity, tolerance to common scab, late blight and rhizoctonia, aptitude for boiling, chipping and frying, and length of tuber dormancy.

Tests & Trials: Tests and trials for 'Abeille' were conducted at Pointe-aux-Outardes, Québec during the summer of 2004. The trial consisted of one 12.5 m long row for the candidate variety and each reference variety. The potatoes within each row were planted 25 cm apart, center to center, and the spacing between the rows was 1 m.

Comparison tables for 'Abeille' with reference varieties 'Atlantic', 'Kennebec' and 'Niska'

Total number of secondary and tertiary leaflets per leaf

Colour of corolla (RHS)