Potato varieties performing well in Kenya

Potato varieties performing well for Kenyan farmers

Mellen Nyabuto

Potato is the second most-produced food crop in Kenya and it is produced by both large-scale and small-scale farmers. Potato farming is a major contributor to food and nutrition security and a source of income for most farmers in Kenya. They are also a good source of Vitamin C and can be prepared in a wide range of recipes. They can be eaten as mashed, fries or crisps. There are close to 60 different varieties of potatoes that are certified and exist in the market. Some of these potato varieties include Unica, Sherehekea, Kenya mpya, Dutch, Arizona, Destiny, Manitou, Markies, Shangi, Nyota Panamera, Purple, Gold, Rodeo, Royal, Rumba e.t.c.

Different potato varieties perform differently depending on the region, climate and planting practices. Below is a list of some of the well-performing potato varieties for the Kenyan farmer, their description and characteristics.

1. Shangi

Shangi an oval-shaped tuber with white flesh, cream skin with medium to deep eyes is one of the best performing varieties. It does really well in areas such as, Meru, Nakuru,  Kwale, Nandi, Kisii, Nyandarua, Kiambu, Nyeri, and Taita-Taveta. Upon planting, it takes less than three months to mature. In the farms, shangi can grow to a height that is slightly less than one meter, with pink profuse flowers and light green leaves. Shangi has a seed dormancy of one month and is moderately susceptible to late blight. Shangi has a medium yield. It’s used as a table variety and making chips.

2. Manitou

 Manitou has an oval or long oval-shaped tuber. It has red smooth skin, shallow eyes and pale yellow flesh. It grows well in almost all potato growing regions in Kenya. Unlike Shangi, Manitou takes 3-4 months on the farm to mature. It has tall stems with large light green leaves. It flowers robustly with violet flowers. Despite having a medium seed dormancy, Manitou has good resistance to tuber blight, wart disease and is moderately resistant to potato viruses, though, Manitou is susceptible to leaf blight. Its yield can be approximated to 40 tons per hectare and is mainly used in making fries.

3. Sherehekea

Sherehekea characterized with round tubers, smooth red skin with deep eyes and cream flesh is one of the best. Its grows in areas such as Kwale , Kericho ,Nandi , Nyandarua, Kiambu, Nyeri, Laikipia and Meru. It takes 3-4 months to mature. On the farm, it grows to a height of slightly one meter with small dark green leaves, strong stems and produces light purple flowers. It has long seed dormancy of 4-5 months and is resistant to late blight and potato virus Y. It is also one of the high yielding varieties.

4. Kenya Mpya

Kenya mpya has an oval shape, smooth cream skin with creamy flesh. It does well in most potato-growing regions. It has a medium maturity of 3-4 months. Like most of the varieties, on the farm, it grows to a height of one meter with medium-light green leaves. Unlike other varieties Kenya Mpya rarely flowers and when it does it produces white flowers. It is resistant to late blight with a tuber dormancy of 3 months. Kenya mpya has a medium yield and is mainly best in making fries. 

5. Unica

Unica has oblong tubers with red skin, shallow eyes and creamy skin. It does well in both lowlands and highland regions of Kenya. It is characterized by an early maturity rate of fewer than 3 months. It grows to a medium height in the farm with strong stems, dark green medium-sized leaves and produces pink flowers. It is moderately resistant to late blight and highly resistant to potato leafroll virus and potato virus X. It can be used for chips, crisps, and as table variety with high vitamin C, iron, and Zinc.

For more information on potato varieties please visit https://npck.org/catalogue/.

Mellen Nyabuto is a plant pathologist working with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) Email: mellennya96@gmail.com