PARENTAGE

The parents of Accent are Alcmaria x AM66.42

APPEARANCE, TASTE AND CHARACTERISTICS OF ACCENT

The Accent Potato

The skins are a very pale brown and reasonably thick for a new potato but the eyes are very shallow making peeling an easy job. The flesh is very light yellow and waxy making it ideal for boiling. If you leave these potatoes in the ground after the normal harvest date they will continue to grow as if a maincrop.

POSITIVE POINTS FOR ACCENT
Taste is good. Good resistance to scab. They can be left in the ground to grow as a maincrop. The plants do not grow tall so are better than many varieties for exposed positions.

NEGATIVE POINTS FOR ACCENT
This variety has no significant drawbacks but at the same time nothing stands out as particularly above average.

BUYING ACCENT SEED POTATOES IN THE UK

Accent is not a common variety of potato but is readily available online. Marshalls Seeds sell this variety.

We recommend buying your seed potatoes from certified suppliers because those sold in supermarkets for consumption can be a source of disease and pest. We would avoid buying them from online general retailers such as as Amazon or E-bay unless you know exactly who is supplying the seed potatoes.

Buying seed potatoes from the discount store can be a good deal but it can also result in a sub-standard crop. The discount stores take the second quality seed potatoes whereas the more conventional suppliers take the best quality. Unfortunately you will only find this out after you have carefully tended your crop for several months.

ALTERNATIVES TO ACCENT POTATOES

It’s easy to suggest a couple of alternatives to the Accent variety. Arran Pilot would a good choice simply on the basis of better taste. Swift is another variety which beats Accent hands down – it matures earliest of all and is good as far as pest and disease are concerned.

For other potato varieties which we have fully reviewed, click the drop down box below, select a variety and then click the More Information Button.

Choose a potato varietyAccent 1st earlyAmour MaincropAnya 2nd earlyArran Pilot 1st earlyArran Victory MaincropCara MaincropCharlotte 2nd earlyDesiree MaincropEstima 2nd earlyInternational Kidney 2nd earlyJazzy 2nd earlyKerrs Pink MaincropKestrel 2nd earlyKing Edward MaincropLady Christl 1st earlyMajestic MaincropMaris Peer 2nd earlyMaris Piper MaincropMaxine MaincropNicola 2nd EarlyOrla 1st EarlyPentland Javelin 1st EarlyPink Fir Apple MaincropRed Duke of York 1st EarlyRocket 1st EarlySarpo Axona MaincropSetanta MaincropSharpes Express 1st earlySwift 1st earlyValor MaincropVitabella 1st / 2nd earlyVivaldi 2nd earlyWilja 2nd earlyWinston 1st early

The planting and harvest dates used below are correct for the UK average. If you want them to be even more accurate and adjusted for your area of the UK click here. It only takes a minute and the adjustment affects every date in this site and lasts for six months.

WHEN TO CHIT / SPROUT ACCENT POTATOES

We recommend that you start chitting / sprouting Accent potatoes in. the third week of February This will give them four to five weeks to develop healthy sprouts just at the time when they are ready to be planted out. Keep the potatoes in cool but light conditions to ensure they grow short, green sprouts. Click here for our page dedicated to chitting / sprouting potatoes in the UK and Ireland.

WHEN TO PLANT ACCENT POTATOES

Accent potatoes are first early potatoes and they are ready for harvest, if conditions are correct, 14 weeks after the seed potatoes are planted. The key factor governing the time for planting all potatoes is the date of the last frost in your area. Even a touch of frost can damage potato plants if their foliage is above ground, an unexpected severe frost can kill them completely.

The date for planting Accent potato seed can be calculated on the basis that seed potatoes will take four weeks before they appear above ground. Given also that you want them to appear above ground only when the danger of frost has passed (the last week of April is the UK average ) the last week of March is about right time to plant them.

WHEN TO HARVEST ACCENT POTATOES

The harvest date for all potatoes is not only dependent on when you plant your seed potatoes, it also depends on the weather conditions throughout the growing season. But on average you can expect your potatoes to be ready for harvest some time between the second and last weeks of July 2017 in your area of the UK.

PEST AND DISEASE RESISTANCE OF ACCENT POTATO

The table below sets out how good or bad Accent potato plants are at resisting common pests and diseases in the UK. The 0 point is average with minus (red) values showing lower than average resistance and plus values (green) showing higher than average resistance.

Note that although resistance to late blight is low, if Accent potatoes are harvested as earlies then they are unlikely to be affected. In effect therefore, even though this variety is susceptible to late blight, it is unlikely to be badly affected by this problem.

SUMMARY CHARACTERISTICS OF ACCENT

TYPE: First early

USE: Boiling and general salad use

SKIN COLOUR / TEXTURE: Very light brown, smooth with shallow eyes

FLESH COLOUR: Cream

TASTE AND TEXTURE: Good taste, waxy texture

STORAGE: Ten days but best if eaten fresh from the ground

POTATO SIZE: Medium sized

REGULARITY OF CROPPING: Regularly produces a good yield

AWARDS: None

SPECIAL FEATURES: None