Kifli Potato

[jayb]

I'm growing the variety Kifli again this year, I think this is the 3rd or 4th season I've grown them. They are one of the varieties developed by the Sarvari Trust

Kifli is a long, white-skinned variety with outstanding flavour when prepared as a freshly harvested, loose-skinned potato. Plants show medium resistance to late-blight and high resistance to virus Yo. Kifli is best planted early as it is a slow starter. Maturity is early maincrop. The crop can be harvested gradually over a long period as larger, more mature tubers still have excellent flavour. Kifli has good resistance to splitting and bruising, to blackleg and to PCN Ro1. http://sarvari-trust.org/nationally-listed.html

I rather like them, although they don't have the same level of Late Blight resistance as Sarpo Axona and Sarpo Mira, they have proved resilient here a couple of times when others have been wiped out. They make a decent general purpose potato, nice as early boiled and then mashed and for jackets. I planted my seed tubers late this year and what with Late Blight affecting some of the potato plot I'm not too optimistic for harvest time. I should get something as they are flowering, even if it just a small sample to eat as (late) earlies!

[jayb]

They have lovely white flowers, in previous years I've noted no self set TPS. But they are a delight to make crosses to, with a very high success rate of pods forming. The anther cones don't look to be fully formed and are somewhat distorted.

[Galina]

I have never done any potato breeding apart from slicing open a fruit and drying the tiny seeds, then growing them. The result was not spectacular, wishy washy purple blotched potatoes, few of them and they fell apart during cooking.

This is why I am so amazed at your breeding successes. I have yet to harvest the Bluebelle x Ratte potatoes - TPS from you. I had a few tiny tubers grown in the conservatory in small pots last year. Growing from TPS is an adventure.

I had lots and lots of magnificent blue flowers on the Mozart potatoes this year, but only one green fruit developed. Should I have hand-pollinated? They don't seem to get bee pollinated very well, even though the flowers were fabulous. Other flowering varieties had no green fruit at all. What am I doing wrong?

[Silverleaf]

They should self-pollinate like tomatoes do. Most types seem to grow flowers but don't set berries, I assume because they don't make decent pollen. So I suppose if you have a variety which doesn't set berries you could try fertilising it with pollen from a variety that does make a lot of berries. Worth a try!

[jayb]

I have yet to harvest the Bluebelle x Ratte potatoes - TPS from you. I had a few tiny tubers grown in the conservatory in small pots last year. Growing from TPS is an adventure.

Brilliant, I hope they are good

I had lots and lots of magnificent blue flowers on the Mozart potatoes this year, but only one green fruit developed. Should I have hand-pollinated? They don't seem to get bee pollinated very well, even though the flowers were fabulous. Other flowering varieties had no green fruit at all. What am I doing wrong?

I just checked the British Potato Database, but no mention as to berry setting http://www.varieties.potato.org.uk/d...ty_name=Mozart The flowers pictured doesn't seem to match their description of red violet. Were yours very blue in colour?

You are not doing anything wrong. Not all potatoes varieties can readily set berries, often issues of either male or female sterility. Kifli is an example. It's always worth extracting some pollen (if there is any) and applying it to open blooms in an aid to pollination with a variety you would like to save TPS from. Also if you have other flowering varieties available a dab or two of pollen from them could show if it is a pollen issue. Weather and temperature also play a part. Silverleaf is right they self-pollinate as tomatoes do but, bees etc can certainly help with pollination and also a few happy bee crosses. Here bees only seem to go for potato flowers early in the season then move on to other things.

[Galina]

No internet after yesterday's downpour, so it appears I lost the message I had written.

Thank you for all the answers why there are so relatively few TPS containing potato fruits. Have just mislaid the one fruit of the Mozart potato, but hope that turns up again as it is the only fruit I have found in the garden so far.

Regarding Mozart flowers, I would call them pale blue to slightly pale purple depending on the light. What do you think?

[jayb]

You would think in a modern techie world, a downpour wouldn't affect internet and phone connections! It can be crappy here too.

Lovely flowers, very pretty.

pale blue to slightly pale purple

sounds right they almost have a hint of lilac.
Oooh nooo hope you find your Mozart pod! They an be hard to spot, especially if they are ripe and have fallen off.

I picked a stem from a Charlotte with a pod yesterday which is nowhere near ripe yet but, the stem had a patch of L. Blight starting to develop. I've trimmed the stem and taken nearly all the leaf off and put it in water in a pot in the house. The berry is a cross I made Charlotte x Blue Belle, I've no idea if it will survive and produce viable seed but I thought I'd try

[Silverleaf]

Hmm, my Charlottes didn't make any attempt to set fruits. Do yours self-pollinate jayb, or did you only get fruit from that cross?

[jayb]

I've never had fruits set on Charlotte before, although I always hoped!
The 4 cross pollinated flowers I did all took, so I'm kinda kicking myself I didn't self pollinate too. Surprisingly a couple of days ago, from what is left of the row, I noticed there are one maybe two flowers just going to seed, which would be self set. They are on the last plant in the row and the least affected by L. Blight, it's neighbour was cut down a while back. I don't suppose they will get a chance to ripen. I've been wanting to cross Charlotte with Pink Fir Apple for a while now, but PFA was a bit late to the show, next year perhaps

[Galina]

This cross does already exist in a commercial potato, called Harlequin. A super potato here.

[jayb]

Yes there are some superb crosses with PFA, Harlequin being about the best I've tasted of them
I think making this cross would give a really good chance to find clones I'd like.

[jayb]

Surprisingly a couple of days ago, from what is left of the row, I noticed there are one maybe two flowers just going to seed, which would be self set.

Strike that, the little pods fell off!

[Galina]

Pity they fell off!

[jayb]

Kifli had a better year in 2015, LB was later to strike and kill them. I had a couple of crossed berries ripening (Kifli x PPE), but the blooming voles went of with them. They have half eaten them, hope it gives them tummy ache! I'll try and salvage what they left.

Nice shape and they should be good eating although, despite all the recent rain, the potato rows are still quite dry, I hope it doesn't affect their cooking quality.

[Galina]

what spacing did you use for Kifli? Can't believe they really need 2 ft. Wish I had the ground to give any potato 2 foot, unless there is a real reason for it.