Potatoes From Chile: Exploring the Data

[Tom Wagner]

Administrator's note. Over at the SEED SAVERS EXCHANGE FORUM, I posted this message to the topic of Papa Borrega. The reason to re-post here is to allow a sort of expository dumping ground for potato topics to flourish. A definition is in order:

Expository writing is a type of writing, the purpose of which is to inform, explain, describe, or define the author's subject to the reader. Expository text is meant to deposit information
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I rather like to hear about unusual potato varieties. The Papa Borrega name is not coming up with any links on the search pages Google, StartPages or Ask.com. Nor I am I coming up with anything on GRIN - Results for tuberosum chile 1 to 64 of 64 results


I have grown many potato clones derived from tuber accessions from Chile, Clavella and some of D.S. Correll's collections from the early 1950's come to mind. There have been others but I cannot find Borrega, Borrego, or any other Spanish name that translates to Ewe, lamb, etc. I don't know if Borrega is a synonym for another name or not. I must hint that it may be a 'lost' variety.


I try to use extant (surviving) varieties of potatoes in my breeding work. I rarely try to 'save' varieties long, as my goal is to turn them into true potato seed (TPS). I can save true seed for a duration of my lifetime and that is important to me and ultimately to others.


Years ago I obtained a few tubers of Rough Purple Chili (Yes, that is the correct spelling) from Fred Ashworth when I visited him in upstate New York back in 1970. RPC was one of the potatoes from Chile that Goodrich had prior to 1853 (he had three colors) and one of the 1700 seedlings of it produced the Garnet Chili, which I still grow. Sadly, I lost the Ashworth collection due to virus.


Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of the Rough Purple Chili has been giving me fits over the last six decades of breeding as it imparts a poor berry setting ability and someday I would like to know if other Chilean landraces had that same problem. But that is another story.

For the readership of the Seed Savers forum, I am including a bit of reading research that shows a bit of the difficulty finding references to Borrega. Add to the research if you find it...I cannot get it through CIP down in Lima, Peru.

In Chile there are currently 18 varieties listed in the registers of varieties suitable for certification. They are:
Altena, Baraka, Bintje, Cardinal, Cleopatra, Desirée, Jaerla, Kennebec, Kondor, Marijke,
Monalisa, Ona, Pehuenche, Pimpernel, Romano, Atlantic, Sebago, Russet Burbank, Mirka Ultimus and Yagana. Of these varieties, only three of them (Desiree, Cardinal and Ultimus) have more than 80% of the market

You can read it here in the translation or the original Spanish: translate.google.com/translat...%26channel%3Ds
Some traditional varieties of potato varieties of Chile from the Chiloé area:
es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solanum_tuberosum

* Asoberana

* Cabritas

* Cacho negra

* Camota

* Cielo

* Huicaña

* Magallanes

* Michuñe blanca

* Ñocha

* Pachacoña

www.chiloeweb.com/chwb/cet/variedades.html more here:

CAMOTA
CIELO
PACHACOÑA
CLAVELA BLANCA
CABRITAS
GUADACHOS COLORADOS
ZAPATONA
MICHUÑE AZUL
HUI
ÑOCHA
GUAPA
CACHO NEGRA
AZUL RIÑONA
CORDILLERA
AZUL PRIMERIZA PURRANCA
RAMA AZUL POSTRERA CORAZON
MOLEJON
QUILA
MICHUÑE LANCA
FRUTILLA
AMERICANA
PITA
GUICAÑA
CLÁVELA REDONDA
OJITOS LINDOS
MURTA HUINCA
COSTA
ARAUCANA
ASOBERANA
MAGALLANES

www.chiloeweb.com/chwb/cet/historia.html has this info:

In 1836 Francés Claudio Gay collected in Chiloé 45 varieties of potato and the principal ones were:

Picumes ReinaPatiru – poñi
Pedanes Uquilda Cauchas
Lingues Voycañes Memichun
Niamcu Amarilla Soldado
Nanulues Latiga Quehuembaca
Coluna Huapa Maoudi
Caimoavidanes Chonas Mechay
Curavoana Liles Pachacon
Quethipoñi Rosas Vidoquin

In 1926, the Russian collector- JUZEPCZUK recorded these varieties from Chile : Pachacoña, Quila, Pichuña, Mojón de gato, Pehuenche, Bastoneza, Chapera, Biscocha negra, Americana, Americana Blanca, Indiana, Bolera, Caballera, Chaped, Cebolla, Corahila, Rosada, Cauchao, Murta, Costa, Blanca, Maude, Reina, Maulluillas, Mantequilla Rosada, Cabra, Pillicume, Guapa, Araucana, Villarroela, Boliviana, Seda, Soldada, Francesa negra, Pedán, Lliñe, Australia, Huinco, California, Temprana, Pirihuaña.

Alfonso Castronovo (1949) wrote about 113 varieties in Chiloé: Bastoneza, Azul, Andina, Blanca primeriza, Blanca redonda, Camota, Camotillas, Caribaja, Chapeda, Chaulineca, Chivato, Clavela, corahila, corahila importada, corahila larga antigua, corahila redonda, corahila rosada, Costa, Europea, Guaucha, Guapas, Guapo mocho, Guizcaña, Hualayhuanas, Huecas, Huevo, Huimco, Ligeras, Lujosa, Mantequilla, Michuña blanca, Michuña negra, Michuña rosada, Molles, Natalina, Negra Ñamcu, Oropana, Redonda pintada, Riñón, Rosada, Rosada primeriza, Siete semanas, Llaicaña.

Poetry minded me says, "Little Bo Peep has lost her Borrega" or something like that. And doesn't know where to find them.
Leave them alone and they'll come home, because Semillas Cerro Alto has found them.

Tom Wagner