EAST GRAND FORKS, Minn. — On October 16, the Northern Plains Potato Growers Association and USDA-ARS Potato Research Worksite hosted the 2017 National Fry Processor Trials (NFPT) Field Day. More than 20 attendees representing processors, growers, and the research community traveled from around the country to evaluate this year’s NFPT clones.
In a departure from previous years, the NFPT moved to a tiered clone system in 2017. Tier One clones are evaluated strictly according to agronomic performance and advance to more costly post-harvest analyses in Tier Two and Tier Three only after performing equal to or better the check varieties-Russet Burbank and Ranger Russet-in the field. This year there were 57 total varieties: 30 in Tier One, 17 in Tier Two, and 10 in Tier Three (including check varieties). Available NFPT data can be accessed through the Variety Data Management (VDM) System after registering for database access.
The NFPT Steering Committee, in consultation with participating breeders, will select 2017 varieties for advancement and Tier One varieties new to the program in 2018 in January.
Questions about the NFPT program or the VDM should be directed to Ryan Krabill, Potatoes USA Research Director, at ryan@potatoesusa.com.
— Northern Plains Potato Growers Association
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