Hi, I plan on planting at least two varieties of cloned potatoes in addition to the TPS, probably in a separate place, but close enough that cross pollination is possible if they produce fertile flowers at the same time. The TPS mix I received is selected for colorful flesh, but one of my cloned varieties is white (the other is purple). Do you recommend pinching off the flowers of the white variety if they flower so as to not add that to the gene pool if I plan to try to save seed and share some? What I do like about this variety is they can make some awfully big tubers. This will be my first time growing TPS so it’s pretty new to me.
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If you love the variety, why not let it add the traits you like to the gene pool?
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My understanding is that potato genetics are far too complex, and that pinching off the flowers of your white potato will likely not change the vast diversity that you will see with any cross. You’ll probably end up with some white potatoes from your next generation of TPS whether or not you pinch those flowers off. If you’re not already familiar check out @Cultivariable’s website and the plethora of in-depth articles that Bill has graciously shared with the world there.
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Potatoes are really fun to work with, but they can also be very challenging from a breeder perspective. If you are starting out with TPS that are pollen fertile then you are already at an advantage from working with some heirloom varieties such as Russet Burbank etc. Over years I have probably grown around 50 named varieties and probably over 200 seedlings from crosses that I did myself. Several varieties pop out at me as being quite pollen fertile and they are the European Désirée and the ever popular Yukon Gold. Carola is also good. The problem with Yukon Gold is that it doesn’t always set flowers, but when it does I almost always have green fruit (berries) that form and I have discovered that if I plant physiological aged tubers (ones that are sprouting with L O N G sprouts growing) they tend to set seed better.
Removing any white flowers might reduce the incidence of white tubers slightly, but focusing on saving seed from the purple fleshed ones will probably be the best use of time in “steering” the genetics toward darker fleshed potatoes. The nice thing about working with potatoes is that if you find a winner you can just replant those tubers from year to year without working on genetic stability.
Good luck with your project.
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