Marcy potato facts for kids

Marcy is a type of white potato that grows a bit slower than some others. It was created in 1990 at Cornell University by mixing two different potato types: the Atlantic and Q155-3 varieties. This potato is great for making potato chips. You can also use it for baking and boiling.

Marcy potatoes can be stored for a long time. Even after being stored for a while, they make good-looking chips. This potato plant also produces a lot of potatoes, which is good for farmers!

What Marcy Potatoes Look Like

• Marcy potato plants are tall and stand up straight. Their stems are plain green, with no special colors. They also have very clear "wings" on their stems.
• The sprouts (the first shoots that grow from the potato) are a reddish-purple color. They are round and have a slightly open tip. The tip has soft, tiny hairs but no color. The base of the sprout has some hairs and a moderate amount of color.
• The leaves of the Marcy potato plant spread out. They are green, but the main veins and leaf stalks (called petioles) are not colored.
• The main leaflets (smaller leaves on the main leaf) come in four pairs. They are large and oval-shaped. Their base is heart-shaped (called cordate), and their tip is pointed (called acuminate). There are only a few smaller leaflets.
• The very end leaflets are medium-sized and egg-shaped. Their tip is pointed, and their base is heart-shaped. The edges of these leaves are not wavy.
• This plant does not grow any berries. However, it does produce many white flowers. These flowers have yellow-orange anthers (the part that holds pollen). The flower buds are not colored.
• The potatoes themselves are quite large and slightly flat. They are oval-shaped. They have only a few "eyes" (the spots where new sprouts can grow). These eyes are mostly at the top and are not very deep. The "eyebrows" (the small ridges above the eyes) do not stick out much.
• The skin of the potato is buff-colored (a light yellowish-brown). It has a very netted or web-like texture.
• Marcy potatoes are quite dense. This means they have a medium to high specific gravity.

How Marcy Potatoes Grow

• Marcy potatoes are good at fighting off some plant diseases. They have strong resistance to a disease called common scab. They are also somewhat resistant to golden nematode, which is a tiny worm that can harm potatoes.
• These potatoes usually don't have many outside problems. However, they can sometimes get internal heat necrosis. This means the inside of the potato can get damaged by heat. They can also get "hollow heart," which means the center of the potato is empty.
• Marcy potatoes are somewhat likely to get late blight, a serious potato disease. They are even more likely to get potato wart, PVY, and PVX. These are all diseases that can affect potato plants.