VERTICILLIUM WILT RESISTANT GERMPLASM - RELEASE OF RUSST CLONE-B0169-56

Potato breeding selection B0169-56 is being released by the United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service as germplasm that is highly resistant to Verticillium albo-atrum Reinke & Berthier and V. dahliae Kleb. In five years of field testing in the Verticillium wilt plot in Presque Isle, Maine, the level of resistance as measured by symptom severity is equal to that of Russette. In 1993, in plots inoculated with both species of Verticillium, there was a 15, 27 and 62% yield reduction for B0169-56, Russette, and Superior, respectively. After four years of evaluation in yield and processing trials in Presque Isle, Maine, B0169-56 has yielded and fried as well as Russet Burbank. Tubers are russet-skinned, oblong to long and cylindrical. Tubers of B0169-56 size early, a necessary quality for an eastern russet. It is both female and male fertile. This selection is currently undergoing further evaluation at multiple state locations for possible commercialization. Seed is available from the USDA/ARS, Beltsville, Maryland.