Texas A&M AgriLife Research Hosts Event to Showcase New Potato Varieties
Texas A&M AgriLife Research, in collaboration with the Texas A&M Potato Breeding Program, Barrett Potato Farms, and Springlake Potatoes Sales Inc., will host the annual Texas Potato Field Day on July 17 in Springlake. The event offers a unique opportunity for industry professionals to engage with the latest advancements in potato breeding and cultivation.
Participants are scheduled to convene at 10 a.m. at Springlake Potato Sales, located at 1452 U.S. Highway 385, before proceeding to the nearby fields for hands-on demonstrations and discussions.
This field day provides an essential platform for researchers, commercial and seed growers, processors, and retailers to explore and discuss the newest potato varieties developed by the Texas A&M Potato Breeding Program and other national partners. Isabel Vales, Ph.D., AgriLife Research potato breeder and associate professor in the Texas A&M Department of Horticultural Sciences, emphasized the event’s significance: “The Texas A&M annual potato field day offers a great opportunity for industry members to interact, exchange ideas, and identify needs or opportunities.”
On the Agenda
This year’s agenda includes a display of 152 potato clones, featuring a diverse range of russets, chippers, reds, yellows, purples, smalls, and fingerlings. Attendees will also view Texas-released varieties and advanced selections, alongside contributions from other breeding programs.
Vales highlighted the resilience of Texas-released varieties and selections, noting their tolerance to heat stress and ability to yield high-quality tubers with minimal defects. Researchers have enhanced their field screenings with evaluations under controlled greenhouse and growth chamber conditions to further validate heat tolerance.
For additional information, interested parties can contact Isabel Vales at isabel.vales@tamu.edu, Douglas Scheuring at (979) 324-2564, Jeffrey Koym at (806) 777-2412, or Bruce Barrett at (806) 893-2040. Further details about the Texas A&M Potato Breeding Program can be found at potato.tamu.edu.
