outbreak of World War I cut off German
and Chilean sources of potash, researchers
at Aroostook Farm began experimenting
with alternatives such as seaweed,
manure, wood ash and gypsum.
A lot has changed since those early
days, and research at Aroostook Farm
has become an ever-evolving attempt to
emphasize what growers in the state need
most at any particular juncture.
At 425 acres sitting just outside of
Presque Isle, Maine, Aroostook Farm
today is the largest of five experimental
farms operated by the University of Maine.
A potato storage research facility and
2,800-square-foot greenhouse are the
crown jewels of the property, ensuring
year-round research capabilities.
Potato breeding has been a priority
at the facility since the beginning, and it
has earned a reputation as a hotbed for
developing cultivars that have gone on to
significantly impact the industry: Atlantic,
Kennebec, Katahdin and Sebago can trace
their roots back to northeastern Maine.
In recent years, Aroostook Farm-bred
Pinto Gold and Caribou Russet have been
USDA
potato
breeder
Robert
Akeley,
pictured
here
at
the
Aroostook
Farm
in
1939,
was
the
primary
breeder
of
the
Kennebec
variety.
WWW.POTATOGROWER.COM 25
Watering
young
potato
seedlings
with
a
fine
spray
in
1943.
E.S.
Schultz
checks
insect
cages
at
the
Aroostook
Farm
in
1945.
Researcher
Reiner
Bonde
inspects
bacterial
ring
rot
plots
at
the
Aroostook
Farm
in
1945.
