Cross: Béa x USDA 96-56

• Fresh market
• Medium-early ripening variety
• Very high yield
• Long, slightly kidney shaped tubers, shallow eyes, bulky tubers
• Light yellow skin colour, light yellow colour of flesh
• Dry matter content: 19.7%
• Cooking type: B, good consumption quality
• Immune to wart disease, race 1
• Little susceptible to leaf and tuber blight
• Good resistance to virus diseases
• Rather susceptible to Fusarium
• Very good resistance to drought

Growing instructions (table potatoes)

General remarks
Spunta is a very conventional and well-known table potato, suitable for production in many climates. Long, slightly kidney-shaped tubers with a pale skin and light yellow flesh. Spunta will produce big tubers with a high yield. The dry matter content is about 19.7%.

Maturity
Medium early.

Seed treatment
Pre-sprouting is recommended. Spunta has strong sprouts, however it is rather susceptible to “little potato disorder” and therefore should not be planted too early into cold seedbed conditions.

Cultivation
Good foliage development with good ground cover and thick stems. A few white flowers. Berries are very rare. To prevent misshapen tubers, Spunta requires a good soil structure. Spunta has a good tolerance to both drought and heat stress.

Fertilisation
Requires an average N-fertilisation (about 250 kg N per ha, including soil reserves), which seems to be sufficient for all soil types. Spunta is rather susceptible to magnesium shortage; an Mg-application might be necessary. The use of organic manure gives positive results.

Harvest
Spunta is susceptible to mechanical damage and rather susceptible to Fusarium (dry rot). Good resistance to internal bruising. Tubers should be lifted with care.

Storage
Spunta stores reasonably well if tuber damage has been avoided.

Resistance to diseases
Susceptible to Potato Cyst Nematodes. Immune to wart disease, race 1. Rather susceptible to foliage blight and tuber blight. Rather susceptible to Fusarium.