Umatilla Russet (, ) is a moderately late maturing variety of

potato The potato () is a starchy tuberous vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground stem tubers of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'', a perennial in the nightshade famil ...

especially suitable for frozen

french fries French fries, or simply fries, also known as chips, and finger chips (Indian English), are '' batonnet'' or '' julienne''-cut deep-fried potatoes of disputed origin. They are prepared by cutting potatoes into even strips, drying them, and f ...

processing. It was jointly released by the Agricultural Experiment Station of

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

, and Washington and the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1998. 'Umatilla Russet' has been equal to or better than

Russet Burbank Russet Burbank is a potato cultivar with dark brown skin and few eyes that is the most widely grown potato in North America. A russet type, its flesh is white, dry, and mealy, and it is good for baking, mashing, and french fries (chips). It is ...

in fry color in Oregon and regional trials. The potato was named by the state of Oregon after the Umatilla tribe, from which the city of Umatilla also takes its name.

Characteristics

Botanical

Tuber Tubers are a type of enlarged structure that plants use as storage organs for nutrients, derived from stems or roots. Tubers help plants perennate (survive winter or dry months), provide energy and nutrients, and are a means of asexual reproduc ...

skin is tan color and russety-like * Tubers are long with a tendency for tapered apical ends * Flesh is slightly creamy * Leaves are dark green, medium pubescence * Few (up to 7) flowers per plant * Flowers are light purple with a yellow-orange center cone

Agricultural

* Less susceptible to Verticillium wilt * Less susceptible to net necrosis * Resistant to Potato virus X (PVX) * Expresses foliar symptoms of

Potato virus Y Potato virus Y (PVY) is a plant pathogenic virus of the family ''Potyviridae'', and one of the most important plant viruses affecting potato production. PVY infection of potato plants results in a variety of symptoms depending on the viral str ...

(PVY) * Less susceptible to tuber infection and decay caused by

Phytophthora infestans ''Phytophthora infestans'' is an oomycete or Oomycete, water mold, a fungus-like microorganism that causes the serious potato and tomato disease known as late blight or potato blight. Early blight, caused by ''Alternaria solani'', is also often c ...

* More susceptible to blackspot and shatter bruise * Less susceptible to hollow heart, brown center, growth cracks and sugar ends

References

{{Potato cultivars Potato cultivars