| Project Detail |
Objectives
Development of early-maturing potato varieties with tolerance to abiotic stresses (specifically heat, drought, and salinity).
Determination of the stress tolerance and maturity period of selected varieties under the hot, dry conditions becoming an increasing feature of the climate in East Asia.
Approach
Potato breeders will develop early-maturing varieties and populations through parental selection and crossing. These strains will be selected based on their ability to grow under stressful conditions, including high temperature, drought, and excess soil salinity. Suitable clones will be evaluated in field trials in Peru and Vietnam. The collaborative activities will involve capacity development of Korean researchers through secondment to CIP headquarters as well as the provision of technical support to smallholders and government officials in Vietnam.
Gender-responsive data on farmer preferences for the new varieties will be assessed and incorporated in the potato
breeding and testing program.
Achievements / expected outcomes
CIP scientists have worked closely with researchers from South Korea and Vietnam to select suitable parents from the lowland tropic virus-resistant breeding population that were resistant to potato virus Y and late blight and early maturing. This led to production of true potato seed through artificial crossing at CIP headquarters in Peru, followed by in vitro screening of heat- (Figure 1), drought-,
and salt-tolerant seedlings and production of seedling tubers (Figure 2). The advanced clones selected will be grown under high temperatures and their glycoalkaloid content assessed in order to screen for quality.
Researchers will then undertake field multiplication and further selection of clones with the desired characteristics. High potential clones will be multiplied via tissue culture to produce clean virus- and disease-free planting materials. They will be further evaluated for yield and stress tolerance under farmer field conditions, with view to releasing the best clones for wider dissemination throughout South, Central and East Asia. |
