1967] PLAISTED AND PETERSON: BAKE-KING, A NEW VARIETY 287

BAKF.-KINC, A N E W VARIETY FOR BAKING t

R. I.. PLAISTED AND L. C. PETERSON 2

] NTRODUCTION

Bake-King is a product of the potato breeding program conducted by Cornell University. The original selection, 57G15-63s, was made in 1957 within the progeny from a cross between Green Mountain and Merrimack. This was one of the progenies in the initial cycle of the program of recurrent selection for high specific gravity (2, 3). When this clone reached the stage of regional tests it was renamed NY-3.

The pedigree of Bake-King follows:

Bake-King

l Green Mountain Dunmore Excelsior

Saranac Merrimack USDA 96-56

Though plants of Bake-King are smaller in size than those of Katahdin, they still provide adequate ground cover for weed and moisture control. When the plants approach maturity the leaves tend to roll. Late in the season the stems become lax and procumbent, but the plants do not really mature until the same time as Katahdin.

Bake-King has been tested repeatedly for yield, specific gravity, after cooking darkening and chip color. It has consistently yielded less than Katahdin but more than Russet Burbank. The tubers are ovoid to oblong in shape and have a tendency to develop a slight russeting on the bud end. The degree of russeting is dependent upon the soil type in which the plant is grown. Bake-King is essentially free from such tuber defects as hollowheart, growth cracks, and misshapened tubers. The tubers are less subject to after-cooking-darkening than are those of Katahdin. They will not produce satisfactory chips. Bake-King has a high specific gravity, but is particularly outstanding for its extremely mealy texture.

DESCRIPTION

Plants: Eadv-mediunl maturing, nmdium, spreading. s Thic[~, nonpigmented. Wings: Inconspicuous. Nodes: Slightly

swollen. Leaves: Large, light green, scantily pubescent, closed. Terminal leaflets: Large, ovate, acute, mostly symmetrical, mean length 81.4--+-_2.1 ram, mean width 52.2+_1.5 ram, index 64.1.:" Primary leaflet: Large, ovate, acute, 4 pairs, mostly symmetrical, mean length 75.6--- + l .4mm, mean width 47.4+--0.9 mm, index 62.7J Secondary leaflets: Numerous. Tertiary leaflets: None. Midribs and petioles: Green scantily pubescent.

1Paper No. 538 of the Department of Plant Breeding & Biochemistry, Cornell Uni- versity. Accepted for publication March 21, 1967.

=Department of Plant Breeding & Biometry and the Department of Plant Pathology, respectively.

288 AMERICAN POTATO JOURNAL [Vol. 44

Flowers: Buds: Light purple. Calyx lobes: Narrow, long, green, abundantly pubescent. Corolla: Light purple, medium large. Anthers: Orange-yellow. Pollen: Scant, poor quality. Under warm dry conditions few flowers are formed.

Tubers: Oblong to ovate; smooth, mean length 92.0+--1.7 mm, mean width 67.2_+.97mm, mean thickness 53.6-+-.69mm, indices width to length 73.1, 4 thickness to length 58.2, 4 thickness to width 79.1. 4 Skin: Smooth with slight flaking at bud end, white (light cream). Eyes: Shallow to medimn deep; same color as skin. Eyebrows: Long, slightly curved, med- ium prominent. Maturity: Medium, separates easily from stolons. Flesh: White. Sprouts: Green in diffuse light.

YIELD

Bake-King has been included in 21 yield trials in New York State since 1961. Table 1 gives the yields of Bake-King, Katahdin, and Russet Burbank in these trials. Bake-King has yielded 91% of Katahdin in 12 upstate trials and 83% of Katahdin in nine Long Island trials of market- able potatoes larger than 2 ~ inches. Bake-King has yielded 118% of Russet Burbank in four upstate New York trials and 120~e of Russet Burbank in five Long Island trials of marketable potatoes larger than 2 ~ inches.

In 1965, 10-pound lots of seed were distributed by the Cornell- Uihlein Foundation Seed Potato Farm at Lake Placid, New York to several foundation seed growers within the state. These growers, as well as the Foundation Seed Farm are in the process of increasing seed stocks of Bake-King.

COOKING QUALITY

The extreme mealiness of Bake-King tubers is the variety's primary attribute and its greatest contrast in relation to Russet Burbank. When tubers of Bake-King are peeled and boiled, their mealiness is reflected in severe sloughing. Over the past several years, Bake-King has been subjected to a number of baking tests conducted by a large diverse group of testers. With but few exceptions, Bake-King has been judged to be a variety having a superior baking quality. The cooking trials have generally shown Bake-King to be much superior to Katahdin in freedom from after cooking darkening.

DISEASE RESISTANCE

The only disease resistance known in this variety is that it has the R1 gene for blight resistance.

MARKET STUDY

A preliminary study (1) was conducted in two Rochester super markets in 1966. Three tubers of Bake-King were wrapped in a tray

8Calculated by dividing the width by the length of 100 terminal leaflets and multi- ,plying by 100.

4Calculated from length, width and thickness measurements of 100 tubers about 8 ounces each multiplied by 100.

1967] P L A I S T E D A N D P E T E R S O N " B A K E - K I N G , A N E W V A R I E T Y 289

TABLE 1.--Yield and specific gravity o] Bake-King relative to Katahdin and Russet Burbank.

Bake-King Katahdin Russet Burbankw Yield in Yield in Yield in cwt/A cwt/A cwt/A

Location Spacing Total >2M S.G. Total >2M S . G . Total >2M S.G.

1961 Ithaca 12" 266 1.093 254 1.077 Riverhead 10" 256 1.078 244 1.065

1962 Ithaca 12" 344 1.093 337 1.079 Riverhead 10" 316 1.076 355 1.064 Wainscott 10" 246 1.085 244 1.073

1963 Elba 9" 384 327* 1.085 493 377* 1.075 Elba 12" 354 326* 464 323* Wainscott 12" 305 225 1.076 389 321 1.071 371 160 1.080 Wainscott 15" 334 261 346 282 329 158 Wainscott 18" 281 220 316 276 341 197

1964 Ithaca 12" 433 403 1.092 512 489 1.075 Riverhead 10" 359 248 1.076 449 369 1.065 Wainscott 12" 256 182 1.076 327 273 1.071 287 201 1.080 Andover 12" 274 228 1.093 317 280 1.080 Elba t 278 258* 349 308* Broome 12" 175 142" 1.094 245 216 1.082

1965 Ithaca I0" 425 359 1.078 417 363 1.068 414 348 1.078 Wainscott 9" 399 298 1.,081 465 382 1.071 330 238 1.074 Andover 12" 154 116 1.088 143 118 1.075

1966 Ithaca 10" 340 292 1.082 437 384 1.073 429 283 1.084 Wainscott 9" 330 232 1.086 394 300 1.073 326 179 1.083 Riverhead 10" 385 346 410 290 374 300 Gainesville 9" 404 365 1.083 399 351 1.074 392 289 1.083 Elba 9" 265 187 1.089 289 234 1.077 245 134 1.082

*>lTA". tKatahdin at 9", NY-3 at 12". w at 18" in 1964, '65, '66.

comparable to the store offering of Russet Burbank. These were sold at the same price as the Russet Burbank and no promotion was made of Bake-King except to identify it as a potato to be used for baking. The results of this trial are given in Table 2.

Fif ty pound count boxes such as shown in Fig. 1 were prepared for the inst i tut ional trade. The responses are given in detail in the Agricul tural Economics publication A.E. Ext . 438 prepared by Dr. R. Br ian How. In general, the responses indicated an interest in further utilization subject to more experience.

290 AMERICAN POTATO JOURNAL [Vol . 44

TABLE 2.--Sales of Bake-King and Russet Burbank in tray pack.

Choice of Bake-King Russet Burbank Bake-King relative to

Week ending units sold units sold Russet Burbank

December 7 148 56 .38 16 93 60 .65 23 38* 67* 30 94* 29*

January 6 76 48 .63 13 57 68 1.19 20 61 60 .98 27 115 64 .56

February 6 64 61 .95

*The stores were sold out of Russet Burbank in the week of December 23, which probably resulted in a bias of the test in the succeeding week.

FIG. 1.--Fifty pound boxes prepared for sale in institutional trade channels.

1967] PLAISTED AND PETERSON : BAKE-KING, A NEW VARIETY 291

S U M M A R Y

Bake-King is a potato to be sold for baking to customers who desire mealiness. The yield of marketable potatoes is greater than Russet Burbank, but less than Katahdin. The specific gravity is greater than Katahdin and about the same as Russet Burbank. Bake-King will not produce light- colored chips and has no significant disease resistance.

RESUMEN

Se considera la calidad harinosa de la papa Bake-King como la caracteristica mas importante dentro la clientela del comercio. En rendi- miento la Bake-King sobresale por un 20 perciento la Russet Burbank pero no alcance la Katahdin. Se encuentra mayor peso espcifico al comprarla con la Katahdin y e s semejante a la Russet Burbank. La Bake- King no rende papas fritas del color claro. La variedad no muestra resistaneia significativa a las enfermedades sino el geue R1 que otorga tolerancia a la 'gota'.

LITERATURE CITED

1. How, R. Brian. 1966. Initial consumer response to the NY-3 potato variety. A.E. Ext. 438. Cornell University, Department oI Agricultural Economics.

2. Plaisted, R.L. 1966. Methods of breeding potatoes for factors affecting process- ing quality. Proceeding Plant Science Symposium. Campbell Institute for Agri- cultural Research.

3. Plaisted, R. L. and L. C. Peterson. 1959. Two cycles of phenotypic recurrent selection for high specific gravity. Amer. Potato J. 40: 396-402.

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