Superior is a white-skinned, white-fleshed, mid-season

potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Unit ...

variety. It was released by the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

potato breeding program in 1962, and is not under plant variety protection. It is a progeny of a cross between 'B96-56' and 'M59.44' and was first grown in 1951. 'B96-56' was also a parent of Kennebec. Like the potato variety

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

, Superior is widely grown for

potato chip A potato chip (North American English; often just chip) or crisp (British and Irish English) is a thin slice of potato that has been either deep fried, baked, or air fried until crunchy. They are commonly served as a snack, side dish, or ap ...

manufacturing right off the field and marketable yields are fairly high.

Botanical features

* Self-fertile * Tubers (potatoes) are oval to round with medium-depth eyes. * Tuber skin is white and may become lightly russeted as it matures. * Flesh is white and has a high specific gravity. * The plants are medium height * Reddish purple stems * Terminal leaflets are short and ovate * Primary leaflets are thick and arched * Flowers have white tips * Sprouts are dark purple

Agricultural features

* High yields, it is used for potato chips, but grows best in cool climates. * It has moderate resistance to

common scab Common scab is a plant disease of root and tuber crops caused by a small number of '' Streptomyces'' species, specifically '' S. scabies'', '' S. acidiscabies'', '' S. turgidiscabies'' and others. Common scab mainly affects potato ...

and ''

Verticillium ''Verticillium'' is a genus of fungi in the division Ascomycota, and are an anamorphic form of the family Plectosphaerellaceae. The genus used to include diverse groups comprising saprobes and parasites of higher plants, insects, nematodes, mo ...

'' wilt * It is generally free from defects such as growth cracks, greening, secondary growth, heat necrosis, hollow heart, and vascular discoloration in tubers, but is susceptible to

potato virus Y Potato virus Y (PVY) is a plant pathogenic virus of the family ''Potyviridae'', and one of the most important plant viruses affecting potato production. PVY infection of potato plants results in a variety of symptoms depending on the viral str ...

potato virus X Potato virus X (PVX) is a plant pathogenic virus of the family ''Alphaflexiviridae'' and the order '' Tymovirales''. PVX is found mainly in potatoes and is only transmitted mechanically. There are no insect or fungal vectors for this virus. This ...

, and

late blight ''Phytophthora infestans'' is an oomycete or water mold, a fungus-like microorganism that causes the serious potato and tomato disease known as late blight or potato blight. Early blight, caused by ''Alternaria solani'', is also often called " ...

References

Potato cultivars {{potato-stub