RED CLOUD
Characteristics | Management Profile | Tables

RED CLOUD: CHARACTERISTICS

The release of RED CLOUD (NE A143.70-2) was announced in 1992 by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the Panhandle Research and Extension Center at Scottsbluff. It is a red-skinned, white-flesh, round potato targeted for the tablestock market for boiling, mashing and baking. Its dark red skin holds color very well in storage making it an attractive potato and excellent for salads and side dishes. Its relatively high specific gravity gives the flesh a mealy texture and makes it excellent for baking. Red Cloud was selected in 1970 by Dr. Robert O'Keefe and its common scab resistance is due to one of its parents, cv. Superior. Early testing was conducted in Nebraska and Colorado (1977-82), in Arizona (1978-82), in Texas (1982-83), and in the North Central States Trial of 1982. From 1989 to 1991, it was retested in western Nebraska. It has a mid-season maturity about that of `Red LaSoda' and earlier than `Red Pontiac'. Its tuber's long dormancy-period requires special storage handling for seed, Red Cloud is tolerant to many diseases but will produce offtypes.

Summary of Plant Characteristics

Purpose -- fresh market (boiled, mashed, baked)
Cooking Texture -- mealy
Maturity -- mid season; later than Norlands and earlier than Red LaSoda
Growth Type -- determinate
Dormancy -- long, requiring special handling for seedVine -- medium size and spreading
Leaves -- medium size, dark green, closed
Flowers -- dark violet to purple
Eyes -- shallow; tend to bulge somewhat
Tubers -- round to slightly oval; thick, dark red-skin; very white flesh
Specific Gravity -- higher than other red cultivars
Yields -- equal or higher than Red Norland and Dark Red Norland
External Defects -- moderate amount of off-types
Internal Defects -- little hollow heart and vascular discoloration, less than Red LaSoda, Dark Red Norland and Red Pontiac
Diseases -- highly tolerant to common scab; tolerant to early dying, fusarium wilt and early blight
Other -- tolerant to heat stress

Comments: Tables 1-3 show that

1. Red Cloud yields the same or higher than Norlands but less than the longer season red cultivars Red LaSoda and Red Pontiac.
2. Red Cloud has the higher specific gravity (and thereby inferred percent dry matter) than the red-skinned cultivar standards.
3. Red Cloud tends to have fewer internal and external defects than the standards.