Voyager

Potato

Variety Description

Variety used for comparison: 'Spunta'

Summary: 'Voyager' has a less upright growth habit than 'Spunta'. 'Voyager' has a longer and wider leaf than 'Spunta'. 'Voyager' has a higher frequency of coalescence of the terminal and lateral leaflets than 'Spunta'. 'Voyager' has an oval tuber shape while 'Spunta' has an elliptical tuber shape. 'Voyager' has a smaller light sprout than 'Spunta'. 'Voyager' has weaker anthocyanin colouration on the light sprout base with less blue in the anthocyanin than 'Spunta'.

Description:

PLANT: semi upright growth habit, intermediate type foliage structure
STEM: weak anthocyanin colouration located in the bottom half, medium thickness, nodes with medium swelling

LEAVES: medium to dark green, intermediate silhouette, absent to very weak anthocyanin colouration on upper side of rachis and petiole, medium depth of veins, absent or very weak waviness of margin, medium glossiness on upper side, no pubescence on leaves at apical rosette, medium presence of secondary leaflets
TERMINAL LEAFLET: narrowly ovate shape, acuminate tip, obtuse base, medium frequency of coalescence with lateral leaflets
LATERAL LEAFLETS: medium size, narrow ovate shape, acute tip, obtuse to cordate base

INFLORESCENCE: medium flowering profusion, medium size, flower buds persistent, medium anthocyanin colouration in flower bud.
COROLLA: white, small, weakly prominent star, weak anthocyanin colouration on peduncle

TUBER: oval
TUBER SKIN: yellow, yellow at base of eye, strong anthocyanin colouration on skin in reaction to light, smooth texture
TUBER EYES: shallow in depth, predominantly apical in distribution, eyebrows not prominent
TUBER FLESH: light yellow, no secondary colour

LIGHT SPROUT: medium size, broad cylindrical, medium number of root tips, short lateral shoots
BASE: medium anthocyanin colouration, absent or low proportion of blue in anthocyanin, medium pubescence
TIP: smaller than base in size, closed habit, medium anthocyanin colouration, dense pubescence.

Origin & Breeding History: 'Voyager' originated from a cross between RZ-85-238 and 'Obelix', made at Metslawier, The Netherlands in 1991. The variety was selected from the F1 of the cross. Selection criteria included yield, internal and external quality and resistance to diseases and pests.

Tests & Trials: Trials for 'Voyager' were conducted in Drummond, New Brunswick in 2006. All entries were planted in single-row plots. Plots consisted of rows 22 metres long with 30 cm in row spacing and between row spacing of 91 cm. Measured characteristics were based on 10 measurements. Colour determinations were made using the 1986 RHS colour chart.

Comparison tables for 'Voyager' with reference variety 'Spunta'

Leaf length (cm)

Leaf width (cm)

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Potato: 'Voyager' (left) with reference variety 'Spunta' (right)