AgricultureID

Cultivar · Potato cultivar

Atlantic

Atlantic is a white-fleshed American maincrop potato released by the USDA in 1978, valued for its high specific gravity and long a leading chipping (crisping) variety in the United States.

Dated referenceLast reviewed: 2026-07-12Updated: 2026-07-12
Illustrative diagram · AgricultureID (original)

Record

Cultivar / variety
Variety of
Potato
Botanical taxon
Solanum tuberosum
Type
Cultivar
Breeding method
Cross-breeding
Origin
United States (USDA potato-breeding programme), United States
Released
1978
Breeder / institution
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Registry status
Historical · as of 2026-07-12
Registries
Adaptation
A temperate maincrop grown as a cool-season crop like potato generally; sensitive to frost and to heat during tuber bulking. Grown on the loose, well-drained soils preferred by potato generally; no unusual soil requirement is documented here.
Intended use
Crisping (potato chips), Processing

Registry listing or variety protection is jurisdiction- and date-specific and does not by itself indicate current commercial availability, universal cultivation approval, patent status, or a recommendation.

Atlantic is a maincrop potato developed by the United States Department of Agriculture and released in 1978. It became a leading variety for the potato-chip (crisp) industry in the United States, where high dry-matter content is a key processing requirement.

The round-to-oval tubers have white flesh and notably high specific gravity, which suits them to crisping rather than to salad or general boiling use. Atlantic has been widely used as a benchmark chipping variety.

Background and identity

Atlantic was produced by cross-breeding in the USDA potato programme and released in 1978. Its defining feature is a high specific gravity (high dry-matter content), which produces the firm, low-moisture chips sought by the crisping industry.

Flesh colour
White
Tuber shape
Round to oval
Processing character
High specific gravity; well suited to chip/crisp manufacture

Cultivation and use

As a maincrop it is grown as a cool-season crop like potato generally and is managed for the high dry-matter content that the chipping market requires. It is used predominantly for processing into potato chips (crisps) rather than for fresh table use. Processing performance and agronomic behaviour vary with region, season, and storage.

Relationships

Evidence-backed connections in the knowledge graph.

Adapted to climate

Adapted to soil

Scope & limitations

Geographic scope: Best documented in United States processing production; also grown elsewhere. Processing and agronomic behaviour is region- and season-specific.

Climate context: Temperate cool-season maincrop.

  • Processing and agronomic behaviour (specific gravity, chip quality) is region- and season-specific and varies with storage.
  • Germplasm is held in genebanks; this is not a statement of commercial availability or of registration in any particular jurisdiction.

Sources

This article draws on the following authoritative sources. See our sources & methodology for how they are selected.

  1. [1]GRIN-Global / National Plant Germplasm System (opens in a new tab)

    USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS)

    Authoritative

    Cited for: Solanum tuberosum classification and U.S. germplasm/accession context

    Type:
    Official registry
    Jurisdiction:
    United States / Global
    Accessed:
    2026-07-12
  2. [2]USDA ARS — Agricultural Research Service (opens in a new tab)

    USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS)

    Authoritative

    Cited for: USDA potato variety release and chipping-quality research

    Type:
    Government agency
    Jurisdiction:
    United States
    Accessed:
    2026-07-12
  3. [3]Encyclopaedia Britannica (opens in a new tab)

    Encyclopaedia Britannica

    Moderate

    Cited for: General background on the variety (secondary)

    Type:
    Reference database
    Jurisdiction:
    Global
    Accessed:
    2026-07-12

Related topics

Crops