There’s a surprising amount of science packed into a bag of potato chips. Researchers have spent decades breeding potatoes that can grow in different climates, stand up to diseases and pests, and remain suitable for processing after being stored for months. In Michigan, that long work is tied to both the needs of chip makers and the state’s position as a leading producer of potatoes for chips.
David Douches, a Michigan State University professor who leads the school’s Potato Breeding and Genetics Program, said the industry requires ongoing changes to varieties. Douches said, “The potato industry is dynamic,” adding that “the needs change, the costs, the pressures that they have, and the markets change. So we have to adapt to that with our varieties.”
In the last 15 years, Douches has developed five new potato varieties for chips. His latest breakthrough is a bioengineered potato designed to maintain a proper sugar balance when stored at colder temperatures, which researchers say can help keep potatoes from rotting. Douches is currently growing seeds for commercial testing of the potato, which is not yet on the market.
The chip-potato work is organized through cooperation among universities, growers, companies and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The National Chip Program, a cooperative that brings together Michigan State and 11 other university breeding programs, grows and evaluates chip-potato varieties for the U.S. industry. Researchers and partners are currently working with about 50 unique potato varieties grown for chips in the United States, according to the National Chip Program.
Tim Rendall, director of production research at Potatoes USA, said the program evaluates around 225 new potato varieties each year and selects 100 for further trials. Rendall described the selection and testing process as part of an effort to keep chip-making potatoes meeting evolving requirements from both growers and manufacturers.
Douches’ research also reaches beyond U.S. processing needs. He has developed disease-resistant varieties for farmers in Nigeria, Kenya, Rwanda and Bangladesh, he said, while continuing to work on varieties that support Michigan’s chip industry. While Idaho leads U.S. potato production, Michigan is the top producer of potatoes for chips, and Michigan’s potato crop is heavily oriented toward chip processing.
Around 70% of Michigan’s potato crop is destined for chip processing, according to the Michigan Ag Council, and the trade group Potatoes USA estimates that one of every four bags of potato chips produced in the U.S. contains Michigan potatoes. Better Made Snack Foods, a Detroit-area company that has produced potato chips since 1930, is one example of a manufacturer working closely with Douches’ program. Phil Gusmano, the company’s vice president of purchasing, said Better Made worked closely with Douches when developing varieties the company uses now.
“We were able talk about size profile and different needs that make a really good chip,” Gusmano said. “And the great thing is, they’re willing to listen to what we have to say, because if they put together a potato that doesn’t really meet the needs for the end processor, it doesn’t do them any good.”
One central challenge for breeders is storage. Douches said that breeding potatoes that can sit in storage for nearly a year is one of the biggest hurdles in his 40-year career, because the storage conditions affect sugar levels and the appearance of chips. He described historical storage at about 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius) and said colder temperatures can raise sugar levels, which can lead to darker chips, while warmer storage can lead to rot.
“You think they’re just these inanimate objects, but they actually are respiring and breathing,” Douches said. “When you do that to them, you’ve got, like, a two- to three-day window where they’re happy.” He said his Manistee variety, released in 2013, can be stored safely until July at 45 F (7.2 C), and he said his new bioengineered potato can be stored at 40 F (4.4 C).
Gusmano said Better Made used to source potatoes outside Michigan for about half the year because Michigan potatoes harvested in the fall could only be stored until February. The company now uses newer varieties, including Douches’ Mackinaw potato, which Gusmano said can be stored until July and is resistant to several common diseases.
“We’re not shipping potatoes from all over the country to be fried here in Michigan,” Gusmano said. “Instead, they’re being shipped from an hour and a half away all year long.”