“Barcelona looks promising for Ontario,” says Eugenia Banks, a potato specialist with the Ontario Potato Board. Recently, at a variety trial at Brenn-B Farms, and in a field without irrigation, Banks notes the potato variety Barcelona performed very well. Out of a number of varieties that did well this summer, Barcelona was the highest yielding at 550 hundredweight per acre, says Banks.
Barcelona is a yellow-fleshed variety with smooth skin. The previous year, the variety also yielded well in the areas of Waterdown and Shelburne, Ont. The variety’s maturity is medium late and it is moderately susceptible to scab, “similar to Colomba,” says Banks. “I saw very little second growth,” she says, “a surprise in a hot, dry summer with infrequent rain.”
