Umatilla Russet: A Potato Variety with Resistance to Net Necrosis

Umatilla Russet was initially selected as a seedling in Powell Butte in 1984 and released by the TriState Potato Variety Development Program in 1998. It is now the sixth most widely grown potato variety in the United States. This improved potato variety yields 21% more U.S. No. Ones than Russet Burbank under approximately the same fertilizer regime, has 10% less hollow heart/brown center than Russet Burbank and is immune to net necrosis, a tuber flesh blemish caused by leafroll virus infection. These improvements have resulted in an estimated additional $16.3 million in farm gate value for the 2007 crop.