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University of Florida Potato Variety Trials Spotlight: 'Yukon Gold'1

Mario H. M. L. Andrade, Rodrick Z. Mwatuwa, Christian T. Christensen, Pam Solano, and Lincoln Zotarelli 2

There are several potato varieties available in the market today. Most of them have been bred or developed in production regions other than Florida. The University of Florida Potato Variety Evaluation Program screens new germplasm from public and private breeding programs and identifies the most promising cultivars for commercial potential considering broad adaptability to Florida climate and conditions and market purpose: processing, fresh-market and specialty-type varieties. Over the years, the UF/IFAS Potato Variety Program has become an important reference to vegetable growers, seed producers, processors, crop insurance agencies, and brokers looking for alternative potato varieties to explore different markets, improved characteristics, and yield. This UF/Potato Variety Trials Spotlight presents a summary of the field evaluation of tuber yield and quality performance of the potato variety 'Yukon Gold' cultivated in Florida.

General Comments

'Yukon Gold' is a fresh market potato variety selected from the progeny of a cross between W5279-4 and 'Norgleam' and tested under the pedigree G6666-4Y. It was released jointly by Agriculture Canada and Ontario Agricultural College, University of Guelph, Canada in 1981 (Johnston and Rowberry 1981). 'Yukon Gold' demonstrates high yield and good tuber characteristics compared to the commercial standard 'La Chipper'. Tuber production and quality results provided in this spotlight are from Florida Potato Variety Trials conducted at the UF/IFAS Hastings Agricultural Extension Center between 1999 and 2019.

General Characteristics

'Yukon Gold' tubers have a buff-colored, slightly netted skin with a medium-yellow flesh color (Figure 1). According to Florida's rating codes for potato tuber characteristics (Table 1), the tubers are round to oblong oval-shaped and have intermediate to shallow pink eyes that are not well distributed, unlike other buff-skinned and yellow-fleshed varieties. 'Yukon Gold' has high yield potential with a low to medium specific gravity of 1.071 (Tables 2 and 3) under Florida production conditions. The variety shows reduced dormancy (time required for sprout emergence). Marketable yield was 214 cwt/acre on average, approximately 7% less than 'La Chipper'. Approximately 85% of the tubers were between the A1 and A3 tuber size classification (Table 2).

Figure 1. Typical tuber and internal flesh color of 'Yukon Gold' potato variety.
Figure 1.  Typical tuber and internal flesh color of 'Yukon Gold' potato variety.
Credit: Lincoln Zotarelli, UF/IFAS

Diseases

'Yukon Gold' is resistant to mild mosaic, moderately resistant to leafroll virus, and susceptible to virus Y, common scab (Streptomyces scabies) (Johnston and Rowberry 1981), PVY, early blight (Alternaria solani), dry rot (Fusarium spp.), silver scurf (Helminthosporium solani), black scurf (Rhizoctonia solani), and soft rot (Pectobacterium spp.) in storage (Nebraska Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources 2017 ). In all trials, 'Yukon Gold' showed a slight susceptibility of 1% to internal heat necrosis, and less than 0.5% to corky ring spot and hollow heart under Florida conditions (Table 3). The standard UF/IFAS Extension recommended disease and weed control program described under Potato Production (Chapter 14 of the Vegetable Production Handbook for Florida, https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/cv131) should be followed.

Season Length and Growth

'Yukon Gold' is an early- to medium-maturing variety under Florida growing conditions. Season length was 95 days on average from planting to harvest. This depended on weather conditions during the growing season. The plants should be harvested two weeks after vine kill to improve tuber maturation and skin set. Potatoes with proper skin set maintain better skin color, lose less weight in storage, and are more resistant to bruising and soft rot. For more information about vine killing on potatoes, see Potato Vine Killing or Desiccation (Zotarelli et al. 2016). Late in the season, tuber size should be checked regularly to harvest tubers with desirable marketable size. Soil moisture should be managed late in the season to avoid high soil moisture conditions that cause enlarged lenticels and delayed skin set.

Fertilization

UF/IFAS trial plots are normally fertilized with 200 to 230 lb/ac of N. The first application of 100 lb/ac of N (granular) is typically incorporated in the bed prior to planting, followed by one or two side-dress fertilizer applications at emergence and/or at tuber initiation. Phosphorus and potassium applications follow the UF/IFAS guidelines described in Liu et al. (2020) and normally range between 45 to 100 lb/ac of P2O5 and 170 to 235 lb/ac of K2O.

Planting

A seed piece of 2.5 to 3 oz is recommended for planting. Crop should be planted with 40 inches between rows and 8 inches between plants, at 3 to 4 inches deep. A seed rate of 2,000 to 3,000 lb/acre of seed is expected.

Other Information

For additional information on cultivation and weed and disease management, see the Potato Production chapter of the Vegetable Production Handbook available at https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/cv131.

References

Hutchinson, C. M., J. M. White, D. M. Gergela, P. A. Solano, K. G. Haynes, R. Wenrich, and C. S. Lippi. 2003. "Performance of chip processing potato varieties in northeastern Florida." HortTechnology 13 (4): 706–711. https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTTECH.13.4.0706

Johnston, G. R., and R. G. Rowberry. 1981. "'Yukon Gold': A new yellow-fleshed, medium-early, high quality table and french-fry cultivar." American Potato Journal 58 (5): 241–244. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02853905

Liu, G., E. H. Simonne, K. T. Morgan, G. J. Hochmuth, S. Agehara, and R. Mylavarapu. 2020. Chapter 2. Fertilizer Management for Vegetable Production in Florida. Vegetable Production Handbook for Florida, 2020–2021 Edition. CV296. Gainesville: University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/cv296

Nebraska Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources. 2017. "Yukon Gold: Characteristics." Crop Watch. https://cropwatch.unl.edu/potato/yukongold_characteristics

Sisson, J. A., and G. A. Porter. 2002. "Performance evaluations of potato clones and varieties in the northeastern states—1999." Maine Agr. For. Expt. Sta., Misc. Publ. 751.

The Potato Association of America. 2017. "'Yukon Gold' (Solanum tuberosum)." https://www.potatoassociation.org/varieties/white-varieties/yukon-gold-solanum-tuberosum/

Zotarelli, L., P. J. Dittmar, P. D. Roberts, J. Desaeger, and B. Wells. 2020. Chapter 14. Potato Production. Vegetable Production Handbook for Florida, 2020–2021 Edition. HS733. Gainesville: University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/cv131

Zotarelli, L., S. Sargent, P. Dittmar, and M. Makani. 2016. Potato Vine Killing or Desiccation. HS181. Gainesville: University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hs181

Tables

Table 1. 

Summary of production statistics and specific gravity of 'Yukon Gold' potato variety grown at the UF/IFAS Hastings Agricultural Extension Center, Hastings, FL from 1999 to 2019.

Year

Total

Yield

(cwt/ac)

Marketable Yield

(cwt/ac)¹

% of Standard

Standard

Size Class (Distribution by Class %)²

Range %

Specific Gravity

     

C

B

A1

A2

A3

A4

A1 to A3

Culls

 

1999

422

392

114%

LAC

*

7*

73

20

0

0

93

5

1.070

2001

325

277

91%

LAC

*

2*

37

42

19

1

97

12

1.078

2002

298

258

88%

LAC

*

4*

40

49

8

0

96

9

1.074

2003

391

303

101%

LAC

*

14*

42

31

13

0

86

11

1.076

2004

311

217

95%

LAC

16

11

57

16

2

0

74

6

1.076

2005

226

180

72%

LAC

2

15

64

18

1

0

83

4

1.073

2006

342

275

89%

LAC

1

8

71

20

0

0

91

11

1.069

2007

325

286

100%

LAC

1

7

65

20

6

0

92

4

1.073

2008

280

213

111%

LAC

2

16

67

13

3

0

82

7

1.082

2009

361

268

105%

LAC

1

5

48

23

23

0

93

21

1.070

2010

326

250

131%

LAC

2

13

72

10

3

0

85

10

1.067

2011

348

248

88%

LAC

3

13

56

15

13

0

83

14

1.068

2012

275

179

74%

LAC

2

9

48

28

12

0

89

27

1.066

2013

129

45

49%

LAC

7

17

68

8

0

0

76

43

1.061

2014

271

145

100%

LAC

4

26

61

7

2

0

70

24

1.063

2015

196

144

80%

LAC

4

14

62

10

10

0

82

18

1.058

2016

194

117

99%

LAC

5

18

70

4

4

0

77

25

1.070

2017

169

114

n.a.

-

5

17

68

4

5

0

77

15

1.070

2018

214

158

n.a.

-

5

14

71

5

4

0

80

9

1.071

2019

263

207

n.a.

-

4

7

29

57

3

0

89

12

1.078

Average

283

214

93%

LAC

4

13

58

20

7

0

85

14

1.071

1 Marketable yield: Sum of size classes A1 to A3.

2 Size classes: C = 0.5 to 1.5 inches, B = 1.5 to 1 7/8 inches, A1 = 1 7/8 to 2.5 inches, A2 = 2.5 to 3.25 inches, A3 = 3.25 to 4 inches, A4 >4 inches; Size distribution by class: Class (wt)/(Total Yield [wt] – culls [wt])

n.a. = not available

Table 2. 

Florida rating codes for potato vine maturity and tuber characteristics.

Tuber Characteristics1

 

Rating Code

Vine Maturity

Internal Flesh Color

Skin Color

Skin Texture

Tuber Shape

Eye Depth

Overall Tuber Appearance

1

dead

white

purple

partial russet

round

very deep

very poor

2

+-

cream

red

heavy russet

mostly round

--

--

3

yellow and dying

light yellow

pink

moderate russet

round to oblong

deep

poor

4

+-

medium

yellow

dark brown

light russet

mostly oblong

--

--

5

moderately

senesced

dark yellow

brown

netted

oblong

intermediate

fair

6

+-

pink

tan

slightly netted

oblong to long

--

--

7

starting to

senesce

red

buff

moderately smooth

mostly long

shallow

good

8

+-

blue

white

smooth

long

--

--

9

green and

vigorous

purple

cream

very smooth

cylindrical

very shallow

excellent

1 Adapted from Hutchinson et al. (2003) and Sisson and Porter (2002)

Table 3. 

Yield, vine maturity, tuber characteristics, and internal tuber defects of 'Yukon Gold' potato variety grown at the UF/IFAS Hastings Agricultural Extension Center, Hastings, FL from 1999 to 2019.

Year

Vine

Maturity

(vine kill)

Tuber Characteristics1

 

Internal Defects2

 

Internal Flesh Color

Skin Color

Skin Texture

Tuber Shape

Eye

Depth

Overall

Appearance

HH

BR

CRS

IHN

1999

*

*

7

5

3

4

4

2

0

0

1

2001

1

3

8

7

3

6

6

0

0

5

0

2002

2

3

7

7

3

7

6

0

1

0

5

2003

5

4

7

7

3

6

6

0

0

0

1

2004

5

4

7

7

3

6

6

3

0

0

0

2005

4

4

7

6

3

5

5

0

0

0

0

2006

7

2

4

4

2

3

6

1

0

0

0

2007

5

4

7

6

4

6

6

0

0

0

0

2008

7

3

7

6

2

8

5

0

0

0

3

2009

4

4

7

6

3

5

*

0

0

0

0

2010

7

4

7

7

3

5

6

0

0

0

0

2011

7

5

7

6

4

6

5

0

0

0

3

2012

9

4

7

6

3

4

5

0

0

0

0

2013

5

5

7

7

3

5

5

0

0

0

0

2014

3

5

7

6

3

6

5

0

0

0

0

2015

6

2

8

8

3

8

6

1

0

0

0

2016

6

3

8

8

3

7

7

0

0

3

2

2017

7

3

8

7

3

7

6

0

0

0

0

2018

5

3

7

8

3

7

8

0

0

0

0

2019

5

3

8

9

3

7

8

0

0

0

1

Average

5

4

7

7

3

6

6

0

0

0

1

1 See rating system outlined in Florida Rating Code Table (Table 1).

2 Percent tuber defects. HH = hollow heart, BR = brown rot, CRS = corky ring spot, IHN = internal heat necrosis.

*not available

Footnotes

1. This document is HS1296, one of a series of the Horticultural Sciences Department, UF/IFAS Extension. Original publication date May 2016. Revised April 2020. Visit the EDIS website at https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu for the currently supported version of this publication.
2. Mario H. M. L. Andrade, research scholar; Rodrick Z. Mwatuwa, research assistant; Christian T. Christensen, regional specialized agent II, director, UF/IFAS Hastings Agricultural Extension Center; Pam Solano, biological scientist; and Lincoln Zotarelli, assistant professor; Horticultural Sciences Department, UF/IFAS Extension, Gainesville, FL 32611.

Publication #HS1296

Release Date:February 19, 2021

Related Experts

Zotarelli, Lincoln

Specialist/SSA/RSA

University of Florida

Solano, Pamela A.

staff

University of Florida

Christensen, Christian

Specialist/SSA/RSA

University of Florida

Related Topics

  • Critical Issue: Agricultural and Food Systems
Fact Sheet

Contacts

  • Lincoln Zotarelli