Alegria

Potato

Variety Description

Varieties used for comparison: 'Yukon Gold' and 'Agria'

Summary: 'Alegria' has a spreading growth habit while it is upright for 'Yukon Gold' and semi-upright for 'Agria'. The plants of 'Alegria' are shorter than those of the reference varieties. 'Alegria' has a weaker intensity of anthocyanin colouration on the stem and a thinner stem than the reference varieties. The leaf silhouette is closed for 'Alegria' while it is open for 'Yukon Gold' and open to intermediate for 'Agria'. 'Alegria' has a white corolla while it is red-violet for 'Yukon Gold'. The general light sprout shape is broad cylindrical for 'Alegria' while it is ovoid for the reference varieties.

Description:

PLANT: spreading growth habit, leaf type foliage structure
STEM: weak anthocyanin colouration distributed on the bottom third, thin, nodes with absent or very low swelling

LEAVES: medium green, closed silhouette, absent or very weak anthocyanin colouration on upper side of rachis and petiole, shallow veins, absent or very weak waviness of margin, medium glossiness on upper side, pubescence on leaves of apical rosette, medium presence of secondary leaflets
TERMINAL LEAFLET: narrow ovate shape, acuminate tip, cordate base, low frequency of coalescence with lateral leaflets
LATERAL LEAFLET: large, narrow ovate shape, acute tip, cordate base

INFLORESCENCE: low flowering profusion, small, slight persistence of flower buds, absent or very weak anthocyanin colouration of flower bud
COROLLA: white, medium size, prominant star, absent or very weak anthocyanin colouration on peduncle

TUBER: round to oval
TUBER SKIN: yellow, yellow at base of eye, strong anthocyanin colouration of skin in reaction to light, rough (flaky) texture
TUBER EYES: shallow, even distribution, slight prominence of eyebrows
TUBER FLESH: medium yellow, no secondary colour

LIGHT SPROUT: medium size, broad cylindrical shape, few root tips, medium length lateral shoots
BASE: medium anthocyanin colouration, medium proportion of blue in anthocyanin colouration, dense pubescence
TIP: smaller than base in size, intermediate habit, weak anthocyanin colouration, medium pubescence

Origin & Breeding History: 'Alegria' originated from the cross of 'Divina' and '3.169 010-86', made in GroB Lüsewitz, Germany in 1993. The selection criteria were maturity, yield, resistance, processing traits, morphological traits, and storage characters.

Tests & Trials: Trials for 'Alegria' were conducted in Drummond, New Brunswick in 2007. All entries were planted in single-row plots. Plots consisted of rows 22 meters long with 30 cm in row spacing between plants and spacing between rows of 91 cm. Measured characteristics were based on 10 measurements. Colour determinations were made using the 1986 RHS colour chart.

Comparison tables for 'Alegria' with reference varieties 'Yukon Gold' and 'Agria'

Plant height (cm)

Colour of corolla (RHS)

Click on image for larger view

Potato: 'Alegria' (centre) with the reference varieties 'Agria' (left) and 'Yukon Gold' (right)