Variety traits

Starch content

Starch content is an indicator of starch concentration in tubers, expressed as a percentage of their weight, which determines culinary properties, keeping quality, and suitability of potatoes for processing.

Mentioned in descriptions 4 253 varieties reference book.

Starch content represents the main energy reserve of the tuber and a key quality parameter affecting the technological properties of potatoes. With a high starch concentration, tubers boil down significantly and become mealy, which is optimal for mashed potatoes and baking, whereas low starch content allows the product to maintain its shape in salads and during frying.

This parameter is estimated as a percentage of the fresh tuber weight using physical gravimetric methods, such as specific gravity determination, or laboratory chemical analyses, including the Ewers method. In variety trials, starch content below 13% is considered low, 13% to 25% is medium, and above 25% is high.

The level of starch content is determined by the genetic potential of the variety and its maturity group, where late-maturing varieties usually accumulate more starch than early ones. This parameter is also significantly influenced by growing conditions, including moisture levels, nitrogen nutrition balance, and potassium fertilizer application, as well as temperature conditions during subsequent crop storage.

Sources10

Breakdown by crop

Starch content of potato 565 Starch content of maize 518 Starch content of maize 213 Starch content of barley 23 Starch content of sorghum 15 Starch content in triticale 14 Starch content of peas 10 Starch content in grain sorghum 8 Starch content — soft wheat 6 Rice Starchiness 6 Starch content — rye 4 Starch content — Sweet chestnut 4 Starch content — Faba bean 3

Found in these crops

Potato 565 Maize 527 Maize 221 Barley 33 Triticale 18 Sorghum 17 Pea 11 Sorghum 7 Rice 6 Bread wheat 5 Sweet chestnut 4 Broad bean 3

Varieties that feature this in their description

Selection based on the description text, not official resistance ratings: such data is not available in registers. Mention indicates that the trait is discussed in the variety's sources; see the variety's profile for details on what is specifically stated.