Event Showcases Innovations and Collaboration in Potato Breeding and Cultivation
On July 17, the annual Texas Potato Field Day, hosted by Texas A&M AgriLife Research, the Texas A&M Potato Breeding Program, Barrett Potato Farms, and Springlake Potatoes Sales Inc., will take place in Springlake. This event provides a valuable platform for industry stakeholders to explore the latest advancements in potato breeding and cultivation.
Event Overview
Participants will convene at 10 a.m. at Springlake Potato Sales, located at 1452 U.S. Highway 385, before heading to the fields. The field day offers a unique opportunity for researchers, commercial and seed growers, processors, retailers, and other industry leaders to engage with the latest potato varieties developed by the Texas A&M Potato Breeding Program and its national partners.
Dr. Isabel Vales, AgriLife Research potato breeder and associate professor in the Texas A&M Department of Horticultural Sciences, emphasized the significance of the event: “The Texas A&M annual potato field day offers a great opportunity for industry members, including researchers, commercial and seed growers, processors and retailers to interact, exchange ideas and identify needs or opportunities.”
On The Agenda
This year’s field day will feature 152 potato clones, including a diverse array of russets, chippers, reds, yellows, purples, smalls, and fingerlings. Attendees will have the chance to examine several Texas-released varieties and advanced selections, alongside contributions from other breeding programs.
Vales highlighted the resilience of Texas-released varieties and advanced selections, noting their tolerance to heat stress and their ability to produce high marketable yields of tubers with minimal external and internal defects. Researchers have enhanced field screening with evaluations conducted under controlled greenhouse and growth chamber conditions to confirm heat tolerance, ensuring that these varieties are well-suited to the challenging Texas climate.
Contact Information
For more details about the event or the Texas A&M Potato Breeding Program, contact:
- Isabel Vales at isabel.vales@tamu.edu
- Douglas Scheuring at (979) 324-2564
- Jeffrey Koym at (806) 777-2412
- Bruce Barrett at (806) 893-2040
Visit Texas A&M Potato Breeding Program for additional information.
