An Interactive Online Database for Potato Varieties Evaluated in the Eastern United States Mark E. Clough 1 , George C. Yencho 2,12 , Barbara Christ 3 , Walter DeJong 4 , Donald Halseth 5 , Kathleen Haynes 6 , Melvin Henninger 7 , Chad Hutchinson 8 , Matt Kleinhenz 9 , Greg A. Porter 10 , and Richard E. Veilleux 11 ADDITIONAL INDEX WORDS. Solanum tuberosum, variety development, education, outreach, MySQL, NE1031, relational SUMMARY. Databases are commonly used to coordinate and summarize research from multiple projects. The potato (Solanum tuberosum) research community has invested significant resources in collecting data from multiple states and provinces, and we have developed a web-based database format for the use of researchers, farmers, and consumers. The northeast regional potato variety development project (NE1031) is a U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (USDA-CSREES) regional project focused on developing and evaluating the suitability of new varieties and advanced clones from multiple breeding programs for a range of environments. This multistate project and its predecessors have been in existence for more than two decades, and they have resulted in the collection of a significant amount of standardized potato trial data. We have developed an interactive potato variety database that allows researchers and end-users to access and obtain potato variety trial results in one centralized site. The database is populated with the results of potato variety trials conducted in eight states (Florida, Maine, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia) and two Canadian provinces (Prince Edward Island and Quebec). It currently contains over 35 data features and was developed primarily for scientists interested in potato variety development, growers, and allied industry members. Hypertext mark-up language (HTML) and hypertext preprocessor (PHP) were used to develop the database interface. T he USDA-CSREES NE1031 project entitled ‘‘Develop- ment of New Potato Clones for Improved Pest Resistance, Mar- ketability, and Sustainability in the East’’ is a project that addresses the needs of the potato industry of the eastern United States through a coordinated process of potato breeding, selection, evaluation, and variety development. Potato breeding and germplasm improvement in this project are conducted by four potato breeding programs (University of Maine, Cornell University, North Car- olina State University, and USDA-Ag- ricultural Research Service-Beltsville, MD). Early generation multisite selec- tion, subsequent advanced clone eval- uations, and variety trialing are then coordinated across eight eastern states, with collaborative research efforts extending to trial cooperators across the United States and into eastern Canada. The overall goal of the project is to develop an array of attractive, nutritious, high-yielding, disease- and insect-resistant potato varieties that can be employed by small and large potato producers to enhance market- ing opportunities, farm sustainability, and grower profits. Breeding, selection, and develop- ment of adapted, chipping, French fry, specialty-type, and fresh market varie- ties are emphasized in this project. Selection procedures for processing lines emphasize high dry matter, ac- ceptable fry color, and freedom from internal defects. Fresh market selec- tion and evaluation emphasize excel- lent appearance, sensory, and nutritional qualities. Development of varieties with durable, multiple resis- tances to important pathogens and pests, such as late blight (Phytophthora infestans), verticillium wilt (Verticil- lium dahliae), early blight (Alternaria solani), common scab (Streptomyces spp.), Fusarium dry rot (Fusarium spp.), golden nematode (Heterodera rostochiensis), and colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata) re- sistance are long-term priorities. The NE1031 project is highly collaborative and takes advantage of the multiple potato breeding and variety development programs located in the eastern United States. The project has established a mecha- nism for sharing and exchanging germplasm and research results be- tween eight participating states and two Canadian provinces. To facilitate easy access of key information, we have developed a web-based, user- friendly potato variety database to facilitate data management and access for the NE1031 project and the entire potato research community. This va- riety database site was designed pri- marily with the interests and needs of the potato research community in mind, but it can be accessed easily by farmers, seed brokers, and home gardeners interested in obtaining timely information on regional po- tato performance. The primary goal when constructing the database was to condense and distill the many variety trials that the NE1031 project conducts into a format that was stan- dardized for key data, such as total and marketable yield, tuber appear- ance, plant maturity, and specific gravity. However, it was also designed to store unique data collected by Variety Trials 250 • February 2010 20(1)