Complete Guide to Potato Varieties: Which Variety Is Better?

The potato, also known as the Irish potato, appears on our dining tables very frequently; whether as a meat dish or a vegetable dish, the potato can always be found. Potatoes are not only delicious but also nutritious and easy to digest, making them deeply loved by consumers. Although potatoes all look similar, there are actually many different varieties!

Complete Guide to Potato Varieties

1. Zaodabai

The “Zaodabai” potato is an extremely early-maturing variety with a growing period of 60-65 days. The tubers are oval, with white skin and white flesh, smooth skin, and attractive tubers. Tuber set is concentrated, and the rate of large and medium tubers (marketable rate) reaches over 90%. Good quality and good palatability.

2. Chaobai

The “Chaobai” potato is an extremely early-maturing table variety, developed by the Dalian Municipal Institute of Agricultural Sciences in Liaoning Province. The plants grow vigorously with strong growth, about 40 cm in height. The stems are green and sturdy, the leaves are plump, flat and spreading, and dark green in color. The flowers are white. Tuber set is concentrated, and the tubers are round. White skin and white flesh, large and uniform, with a large and medium tuber rate of 71-84%, smooth skin and relatively good quality, and a starch content of 12.5-13.4%.

3. Zhongshu No. 2

“Zhongshu No. 2” was bred by the Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, using LT-2 as the female parent and DTO-33 as the male parent. The plants are of the spreading type, 50-70 cm in height, with sturdy main stems; when whole seed tubers are planted, there are generally 3-4 stems, and the stems are light purplish-brown. The leaves are dark green. The corolla is purplish-red, the anthers are orange-yellow, with abundant pollen, strong natural fruit-setting ability, many flowers, large berries, and many seeds. The tubers are flat-round, with light yellow skin and flesh, smooth skin, and relatively shallow eyes.

4. Zhongshu No. 4

“Zhongshu No. 4” was bred in 1995 by the Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and is an extremely early-maturing type variety. It takes about 60 days from emergence to maturity. The growth vigor is relatively strong. The plant type is upright, about 50 cm in height, with few branches, green stems, and a light purple base. The leaves are dark green, the compound leaves are upright, medium in size, with flat leaf margins; the corolla is light purple and can set fruit naturally.

Kexin No. 4

5. “Kexin No. 4” was bred in 1963 by the Potato Research Institute of the Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, using “Baitouweng” as the female parent and “Katahdin” as the male parent. The plant type is spreading, with few branches, about 60 cm in height, green stems, medium growth vigor, light green leaves, and moderately abundant pubescence. The compound leaves are medium in size, with flat leaf margins and 4 pairs of lateral leaflets, with medium density in arrangement; the peduncle of the inflorescence is medium in size and neat. The corolla is white, the anthers are yellow-green, with little pollen, and generally no berries.

Which Potato Variety Is Good

Potatoes prefer a cool climate. The optimum germination temperature for buds on the tubers is 12℃-16℃; at 18℃-25℃ they sprout rapidly, but the resulting seedlings are weak and small. The suitable soil temperature for tuber development is 16℃-18℃, preferably not exceeding 21℃; above 25℃ is unfavorable for tuber enlargement. High temperatures will cause the tubers to stop growing. When choosing varieties, give priority to extremely early-maturing varieties with a growing period of 60-65 days; you may choose Zaodabai, Dongnong 303, Favorita, Luyin No. 1, Jinyin No. 8, etc. There are many potato varieties, so choose according to local market needs and use virus-free seed potatoes. The climate varies from place to place, and the planting season and methods differ greatly, so please plant according to the characteristics of the potato combined with the local climate.

How to Choose Potatoes

1. Look at the shape. Round potatoes are floury potatoes, suitable for making salads or mashed potatoes; while the slender May Queen variety is waxy, not easy to overcook, and suitable for making curry. Avoid buying those with overly uneven surfaces.

2. Look at the surface. When choosing potatoes, pick ones with smooth skin and relatively shallow eyes. Such potatoes are easy to peel and are fully usable. Try to choose plump and uniform potatoes with no dry scars or rough skin, no disease spots, insect bites or mechanical injuries, not wilted or softened, and preferably with no fermented alcoholic smell.

3. Look at the color. Buy yellow-skinned potatoes. Yellow-skinned potatoes have a dark yellow outer skin and a light yellow interior, with high starch content, contain carotene, and taste better. In addition, note that potatoes with greenish skin should not be bought or eaten. This is because the solanine they contain is toxic and will not be destroyed even by heating; eating them will cause poisoning.

How to Store Potatoes

1. First, put the fresh potatoes you bought back into a cardboard box, and put a few green apples in the box; the ethylene released by the green apples can keep the potatoes fresh during storage.

2. Prevent exposure to the sun. Potatoes like cool conditions and fear heat, so do not expose them to the sun.

3. Prevent moisture. Too much humidity and poor ventilation will cause potatoes to mold and rot. They should be placed in a corner of the room, preferably with a layer of sand underneath.

4. Prevent high temperatures. Potatoes tend to sprout at high temperatures; the most suitable temperature is 2-4 degrees, and above that they will sprout.

5. Prevent mixed stacking. Do not put them together with other vegetables, such as sweet potatoes and other vegetables that mold and rot easily.

As described above, there are quite a few potato varieties, but they are largely similar and not very different from one another. Potatoes are not only a common home-style dish for us, but also play an important role in the snack and food industries; they can be processed into potato chips, French fries, potato flour, potato starch, and so on. Processed foods in particular are deeply loved by young consumers.