The tubers of Diamond Blue look good enough for a replant and if the taste and texture hold up...I sure would keep them...pass them around a bit.
Seedlings of potatoes can be a exasperating experience...some sibs will do well and others ....well....back to the drawing board.
Hybrids usually promote a higher percentage selection ratio....and OP's are nearly always produce fewer really good clones.
Since I sow a lot of TPS each year....I am happy to have from 10% to even 1 per cent selected to go on to the next season. I have so many really good clones that it takes some doing to out perform these each year....therefore many otherwise OK clones are dropped for the search of the perfect potato.
The beginning grower of potato clones from TPS may be quite happy with at least half of their seedling hills...but with each years grow-outs ....one becomes more and more the perfectionist.
The University and/or USDA potato breeders are likely to be searching for the one in a million potato clone...And that is almost what it takes to get a clone moved up the ladder from the first year seedling tuber year...on to the second trial, and then to various local and regional trials where most varieties are dropped purposefully in order to name only one or two varieties a year. That process takes about 10 to 15 years...and a lot of things happen in that duration.
I remember walking the fields of nearly harvested potato clones laying in situ when the one row harvester (sometimes two) with all sorts of professional potato folks. One time in North Dakota ...1969...walking with the late Bob Johansen through 60,000 clones on several acres .....I was amazed of how few of some family crosses were kept for another year. In those years I would pick up the rejects for further work. The selection rate that year was not more than about 2%.
Tom Wagner
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