PERFORMANCE OF POTATO CLONES FOR PROCESSING IN SUBTROPICAL AND HIGH-ALTITUDE TROPICAL REGIONS OF BRAZIL

Abstract

This work evaluated the performance of potato clones for some agronomic and processing traits, in subtropical and high-altitude tropical regions, under conventional and organic production systems. Experiments were conducted in spring of 2017 and 2018 in Canoinhas-SC (subtropical), under the conventional system, and in winter of 2018 and 2019 in Brasília-DF (tropical), Brazil, under conventional and organic systems. Eleven advanced clones and cultivars Agata (fresh), Atlantic (chipping) and Asterix (french fry) were evaluated. RCBD with tree replications was used, and tuber yield and processing traits, plant vigor and cycle were evaluated. It was not possible to select high yielding and good processing quality clones with short cycle and less vigorous plants. It because higher yield and larger tuber size were attained by longer cycle genotypes, which had higher specific gravity, but darker frying color. The most outstanding clones differed with region and production system. For chipping, in the subtropical region, no clone had adequate quality, but in tropical F177-11-20 presented similar processing traits and higher or similar yield to 'Atlantic' in both systems, and also ORG7785 in organic. Comparing with ‘Asterix’, for french fry, in the subtropical region, superior or similar to the standard this cultivar were F129-10-06 and F163-11-01; while in the tropical region and conventional system, were the clones ORG7785, F129-10-06, F163-11-01, F177-11-20, ORG6464, ORG 6377, F05-11-03, Odone 80-02 and F174-11-01; and in organic system, the best clones were F54-11-03, ORG7785, F129-10-06, F163-11-01, F177-11-20 and ORG6464.