2013 ASHS Annual Conference

The most important potato cultivar of the  20th Century in North American came out of the examination  of a few sexually produced seedlings derived from a seed ball of ‘Early Rose’ growing in Lunenberg, MA, in the early 1870s by young Luther Burbank.  In 1875, the rights to propagate the seedling were sold to the  seedsman James J.H. Gregory for $150 who listed it in his catalogue as ‘Burbank Seedling'. The money was used to finance Luther's relocation to California. ‘Burbank’ was a fortuitous selection from materials that formed the backbone of potato geneaology in the late nineteenth century.  No other potato bred by Luther was even close. A russet skinned sport was selected by Lou Sweet and  became the basis for  the  large  potato processing industry which developed in the United States.  Luther Burbank regarded potato breeding as a mission necessary to feed a hungry humanity.  His writings indicated great passion associated with this endeavor.  Today ‘Russet Burbank’ is the potato with the greatest crop area in North America used for the dual purposes of fresh market and “French Fry” consumption.  It simply is the best fryer out of long term storage.