Picture taken 96 days after planting. 

 

VARIETY FACT SHEET FOR: Beacon Chipper (UEC)

 

ORIGIN:        Unknown

 

PEDIGREE:  Unknown

 

GENERAL COMMENTS: 

 

This line is an early bulker with a full season vine maturing, high yield, cold chipper 45 °F, with resistance to golden nematode and common scab

 

PRODUCTION INFORMATION:

 

Seed of this line does not like excess moisture.  A bark product on the cut seed would be recommended.  Seed spacing should be 8 to 10 inches on 34 inch rows.  Depth of planting that insured quick emergence is important.  UEC has an early maturity much like Atlantic and nitrogen management would be similar, not exceeding 180 lb of actual N. 

 

No susceptibilities to herbicides have been noted.  This line is an early bulker and would be expected to achieve a 400 cwt per acre yield in 100 to 110 days.  Specific gravity in Michigan under irrigated conditions is expected to be around 1.078 to 1.082.  Scab tolerance of this variety is better than Atlantic and comparable to Onaway.  This variety is susceptible to the US 8 strain of Late Blight.  Black spot susceptibility is very comparable to Snowden.  This variety seems to size early with a very good yield and few culls.  The only internal defect that was noted in this line was a low percentage of vascular discoloration. 

 

HARVEST STRATEGY:

 

Based on maturity, early harvesting with Atlantic or just after would be recommended.  This line does not exhibit a large increase in internal defects as Atlantic with the increase in maturity.  Short term storage is a possibility for UEC

 

STORAGE RECOMMENDATIONS:

 

Early shipment do to lack of dormancy would be recommended at this time.  Early storage results indicate this line storing and chipping well into March.  Some sprouting has been noted.  Storage temperature for these potatoes has been 52 °F. 

 

PROCESSING ABILITY:

                                          

Chip color is excellent into early March (SFA 1) with a low incidence of color defects.