Hibernate

Hibernate is a novel potato variety developed by enhancing the industry proven Atlantic chipping variety with the second generation of Innate^® technology.

The following traits were added: 1) late blight protection; 2) reduced invertase resulting in cold storage ability; 3) reduced polyphenol oxidase (PPO) resulting in reduced blackspot and darkening of raw potatoes; and 4) reduced asparagine resulting in less acrylamide in cooked potato products.

Benefits for Growers:

• Ability to store tubers at 46°F for up to 9 months after harvest.
• Resistance to foliar late blight caused by several of the most prevalent strains of Phytophthora Infestans.
• Higher specific gravity compared to other chipping varieties.
• 45% reduction in blackspot bruise compared to conventional Atlantic.
• Reduces the amount of acrylamide in cooked potato products by half compared to conventional Atlantic.

Hibernate potatoes offer the following advantages for potato chip processors:

• 6-14 percent solids improvement over popular chipping varieties leading to greater conversion and less waste.
• Significantly fewer blackspot defects than Atlantic for greater utilization and less waste.
• Reduction in acrylamide when cooked when compared to conventional counterparts.
• When compared to conventional Atlantic potatoes, Hibernate can be stored for up to 9 months with glucose levels remaining suitable for processing into chips. Through the use of technology, the Atlantic variety was transformed into a long storage variety.