It’s harvest time in the potato breeding program. Last week we harvested and graded our breeding trials at the UW Hancock Agricultural Research Station, which is located in the main potato-growing region of Wisconsin (the Central Sands).
Traditionally the potatoes have been graded into two size categories. “B” potatoes fall through the holes of a 15/8″ sieve, while the larger “A” potatoes pass onto a set of rollers where culls and rocks can be removed. This is also the key moment where notes are taken about the shape, skin, and other visual characteristics that will be used to guide selection decisions.
This may be the last year we use the old-style grader as the Hancock station just installed a new grader that determines the size and weight of every potato from an X-ray image. That’s a lot of data!
