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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Aberdeen, Idaho » Small Grains and Potato Germplasm Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #119849

Title: UTILIZATION OF POTATO GENETIC RESOURCES IN VARIETY DEVELOPMENT.

Author
item Corsini, Dennis
item PAVEK, JOSEPH - RETIRED ARS

Submitted to: American Journal of Potato Research
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/1/2001
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: This paper is a summary of a presentation given at a symposium on potato genetic resources. It describes the historical and current use of a broad range of genetic resources in potato breeding programs. The cultivated potato in North America and Eurasia can be traced back to introductions into Europe from South America beginning in the 16 Century. Intensive breeding efforts started after the great late blight epidemics in the 1840s. Late blight destroyed not only the potato crops but also much of the genetic diversity of the cultivated potato. Many wild potato species have been used in breeding programs to improve resistance to diseases and pests. This work is still going on today with prebreeding programs introducing genes for beneficial traits into parental material through traditional breeding methods. These improved parents are in turn being used by applied breeders in developing new varieties.

Technical Abstract: Early potato varieties of Europe and North America were derived from Chilean Solanum tuberosum. Contributions from Gp. Andigena very likely occured as well. A small number of the older varieties had field resistance and consequently survived the epidemics of the 1840s. These survivors, along with a few 19 and early 20 century introductions, provided the base for modern potato variety development. Beginning in the first half of the 20 century, resistance to diseases and pests from exotic species and primitive relatives was backcrossed into existing stocks, further perpetuating a narrow genebase. Broadening of the Tuberosum genebase was undertaken in the 1960s by creating long day adapted Neo Tuberosum NT from large populations of Andigena. US varieties with NT in their pedigrees include the New York releases Rosa, which is 50 percent NT, and Eva, 25 percent NT. Over 3000 accessions of more than 100 wild species are available to breeders from the USDA, NRSP6 potato genebank. Genebanks in other countries also have many accessions for breeders. These collections are a great source of valuable traits for breeding but remain under utilized, mainly because of the time required in eliminating the wild characteristics associated with desired traits. Prebreeding is needed to help breeders utilize the many needed genes in the wild species. There now are two US projects with prebreeding as an objective, one at Madison, WI and the other at Prosser, Wa. Resistance to cold sweetening, late blight, root knot nematode, potato leafroll virus and potato virus Y has recently been incorporated into Tuberosum through these prebreeding efforts incorporated into Tuberosum.