Officials with Agriculture and Agri-food Canada’s potato breeding program held their annual potato accelerated release open house on Feb. 10.
The event was held concurrently at three locations: the Potato Research Centre in Fredericton, N.B.; the Guelph Research and Development Centre in Ontario; and the Lethbridge Research and Development Centre in Alberta.
This year, 16 new varieties of potato were released, including five selections for the french fry market.
As Canada’s only government-funded national potato breeding initiative, the AAFC program provides the Canadian potato industry with an opportunity to trial potato selections that are deemed to be the most promising varieties for potential commercialization.
During the annual open house event each February, the centres’ best prospects for new potato varieties are offered for evaluation trials by industry through the AAFC’s accelerated release program. The 16 varieties released this year were selected based on their potential interest to sectors within the french fry, chipping and fresh markets.
For a complete list of the new selections for 2016, visit AAFC.
