Country Mart Norkotah Russet potatoes! A bargain!

ORIGIN: Selected from a cross made in North Dakota between ND9526-4 Russ x ND9687-5 Russ and tested as ND534-4 Russ. Released by North Dakota in 1987.

CHARACTERISTICS: Russet Norkotah is an early to medium maturity cultivar grown primarily for the fresh market. Yields are medium and tuber specific gravity is low to medium.

Plants are medium sized, slightly upright; stems are medium thick with non-pigmented nodes and internodes. Leaves are medium in size, open and slightly pubescent. Buds are slightly pigmented, corolla is white and anthers are yellow-orange. Tubers are long to oblong, smooth, russeted and have shallow, bright golden eyes. Tuber flesh is white, dormancy is medium and sprouts are white with some purple pigment at the tip.

STRENGTHS & WEAKNESSES: Russet Norkotah has a very attractive general appearance with a high percentage of U.S. No. 1 tubers. Tuber shape and type are very desirable for the count-carton market. The variety is not well suited for processing. It is adaptable to many of the growing areas.

Russet Norkotah is susceptible to most viruses and late blight. It is very susceptible to Verticillium wilt and early blight. It is reported to have some tolerance to common scab and silver scurf.

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Above are the basics concerning the five pound bagged potatoes that are offered at the Country Mart store located in Forsyth Missouri. I like to buy these to take home as they are an excellent value. Following are some raw stats I came up with:

Count per bag: ~12 potatoes costing $2.99

Avg small found in bag: 185 grams

Avg large found in bag: 234 grams

Avg combined = ~210 grams or 7.4 ounces per potato (a medium size tater)

Avg cost per per potato = .28 cents

Avg calories per potato = 204 calories

The above numbers came from a bag I purchased and from figures gleaned off the net. I noted that the calories weren't bad at all. I guess it might be the stuff we like to add (like butter) that can balloon those numbers up a lot! This article appeared at www.taneyweather.com!