New rose series of colored potato varieties receives national certification for the first time
Colored potatoes are mainly purple, red, black and blue. They are more delicate than ordinary potatoes and have higher nutritional value; for example, their content of antioxidant substances such as anthocyanins is higher than that of ordinary potatoes.
Chen Qin, a distinguished professor at Northwest A&F University, and his team bred new colored potato varieties “Purple Rose No. 2”, “Red Rose No. 3” and “Black Rose No. 4”, which obtained plant variety right certificates from the Ministry of Agriculture and completed registration as new national non-major crop varieties. This achieved a zero breakthrough in the university's history of breeding new potato varieties.
China's potato production faces the predicament of a lack of special processing-type varieties. Since 2010, Professor Chen Jin has led the potato genetic breeding and functional development team, aiming at the international frontier, focusing on the major needs of the development of China's potato staple food industry, taking the original innovation of potato germplasm resources as the core, and carrying out all-round potato genetic breeding and screening and breeding of new staple-food processing varieties.
After years of field screening and identification, the team selected and bred a series of new colored potato varieties suitable for staple-food processing with high nutritional value. These varieties were cultivated through crossbreeding, and their yield and quality are better than those of existing colored potato varieties.
The rose series colored potatoes that obtained new variety rights and completed new variety registration this time have relatively high nutritional value, yield and added value. The general yield is 2000 kg per mu, and under good cultivation and management conditions, the yield per mu can reach more than 4000 kg, with an average yield 30% higher than that of ordinary varieties. Their marketable potato rate can reach more than 85%. In terms of quality, in addition to containing various nutrients such as carbohydrates, vitamin C and starch found in ordinary potatoes, they also contain anthocyanins and polyphenol-type highly antioxidant active substances. Their anthocyanin content reaches or approaches the level of expensive blueberries, and their antioxidant active substances contain 1000-1700 mg per 100 grams, which is 5-10 times that of ordinary varieties.
This new colored potato variety is not only rich in nutrition, but also brightly colored, with different colors such as red, purple and black. The processed products have excellent quality and high added value, and have very good market and development potential. After being processed into whole flour, it can be preserved for a long time. Processed into colored potato chips, it is not only uniquely flavored, but can also retain its original natural color, making it healthier and more delicious.
The planting conditions for colored potatoes are no different from those for ordinary potatoes, but the market price is higher than that of ordinary potato varieties. The new rose series varieties have been certified, which can effectively promote the development of China's potato industry and form a distinctive industrial chain.