Red La Soda (Solanum tuberosum)

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ORIGIN: Red La Soda is a deep red mutant of La Soda, a variety developed by the Louisiana potato breeding program in 1948. La Soda was selected from a cross between Triumph and Katahdin. The mutant was observed in 1949 and released as a variety by the USDA and Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station in 1953.

CHARACTERISTICS: Red La Soda is a main season cultivar that is primarily grown in the southeastern U.S. It is harvested in the winter months as a fresh market variety.

Plants are medium in size and spreading in habit. Stems, leaves and petioles are green with light pubescence. Flowers are large and lavender in color; pollen is scant. Tubers are round to oblong, slightly flattened with medium deep eyes. Tubers have a tendency toward skinning. Skin texture is smooth and color is deep red which tends to fade with time. Flesh color is white. Specific gravity tends to be low, thereby making the tubers well suited for boiling. Dormancy is long.

STRENGTHS & WEAKNESSES: Red La Soda has a high yield potential of tubers with a bright red color. Tubers size early. Tuber eye depth and off-shape tubers are limitations. The cultivar is susceptible to early and late blights, scab, corky ring spot, and bacterial wilt.