General combining ability and its repeatability in early generations of potato breeding programmes

Summary General combining ability and its repeatability in the early generations of a potato breeding programme was studied by evaluating 72 progenies (18×4) of 22 parents in a factorial mating design for three successive generations. The mean squares for combining ability due to females, males and females × males were significant for eight out of the ten characters studied. Variance estimates due to specific combining ability were more important than those due to general combining ability for most of the characters in all the generations. General combining ability effects varied from generation to generation. Most of the correlation coefficients between generations for general combining ability effects were significant, but of moderate magnitude (0.5–0.8). Parents with consistent performance over generations and those specifically suitable for a TPS crop were identified.     

马铃薯主要块茎性状杂种优势及配合力分析

对马铃薯9个亲本及其不完全双列杂交组配的18个杂种无性一代的8个性状进行了杂种优势和配合力分析。结果表明:①8个性状均具有一定程度的杂种优势,超中亲优势的大小顺序为:烂薯率>块茎产量>结薯数>淀粉含量>单个块茎重>薯形>块茎外观>结薯习性;超高亲优势的排列顺序则为:结薯数>单个块茎重>块茎产量>块茎外观>烂薯率>淀粉含量>薯形>结薯习性。②品种P(2L0031-17)、P(4陇薯3号)、P(7L0218-38)、P(995D-P-8)具有较好的一般配合力,是理想的亲本材料。③组合P1×P4、P2×P9在淀粉含量、块茎产量等性状上具有较高的特殊配合力,产生较强的杂种优势。在马铃薯高淀粉育种中应选择高淀粉材料作为亲本之一,选配组合时亲本最好采用高×高类型或高×低类型配置组合。     

Somaclonal variation in tuber traits of potato

Summary About 13,000 somaclones of 17 cultivars and clones of potato were obtained from in vitro callus cultures and individually planted in a greenhouse, followed by tuber generations grown in the field. These plants were subjected to the multistage selection procedure commonly used in potato breeding. Over a period of five years and three field generations the tuber number, size, shape, eye depth, starch content, starch yield and tuber appearance of these somaclones were assessed and compared with that of the controls. These characters varied depending on donor genotype and trait. The frequency of variants was assessed and there were acceptable proportions of desirable abberrants and invariants among the somaclones. Depending on trait the average gain rate for all donor genotypes ranged between 0.2 and 2.3% for-deviants, between 12.2 and 15.5% for invariants and between 0.1–1.4% for +deviants. It is concluded that this technique should be used into potato breeding programmes to improve commercially important characteristics of specific cultivars and breeding clones.     

Variation in the duration of tuber dormancy within a seed potato lot

Summary The variation in duration of dormancy within a seed tuber lot was studied over three years by harvesting individual plants of cvs Diamant and Désirée from field plots and by storing the tubers at 18°C. The variation in dormancy within a tuber lot was large (especially for cv. Diamant) and was mainly caused by variation within plants. For cv. Diamant there was a close negative relation between dormancy and the cube root of tuber weight, whereas for cv. Désirée a relation with tuber weight was almost absent. The duration of dormancy of a seed lot comprising tubers with a narrow range in weight can be well described by two parameters. It is proposed to maintain the moment of 80% sprouting as the criterion for the end of dormancy of a tuber lot and to characterize the spread in dormancy duration by the time lapse between 10% and 90% sprouting.     

Progeny mean, heterosis and heterobeltiosis inSolanum tuberosum x tuberosum andS. tuberosum x andigena families under a short day sub-tropic environment

Summary Solanum tuberosum x tuberosum (TxT) families were compared withS. tuberosum x andigena (TxA) families as progeny mean, heterosis and heterobeltiosis for ten important agronomic characters by evaluating 72 cross combinations (36 of TxT and 36 of TxA, from 18 common female parents), for three successive seedling and clonal generations under short day sub-tropic conditions. TxA families had more vigorous progenies, higher tuber yield, higher number of tubers, larger tubers and better general impression than TxT families. The TxA families were inferior to the TxT families for characters such as tuber colour and uniformity of tuber colour, but their progeny means were within the acceptable range. High progeny means of TxA families were associated with high heterosis and high heterobeltiosis in these families, although there were a few exceptions. High mean performance for tuber yield and tuber number were associated with high variance of these traits in TxA families. It is concluded that, unlike under long day environments, andigena adapted to short days can be used advantageously for exploiting heterosis in the potato breeding programmes of short day subtropic environments.     

A device for measuring the growth of individual potato tubers non-destructively and precisely

Summary A device for measuring the short-term fluctuations in volume of individual tubers is described. Its accuracy is mostly independent of tuber growth stage, shape and malformations. The coefficient of variation of volume of a tuber of 40 cm³ was usually well below 0.15% when the tuber was measured four times.     

Effect of applying nitrogen fertilizer to a potato seed crop on the susceptibility of the daughter plants toErwinia carotovora subsp.atroseptica

Summary Seed potatoes of cvs Record and Bintje were grown with 30, 80 or 130 kg N/ha. In the subsequent growing season the seed tubers, which were inoculated or not with two concentrations ofErwinia carotovora subsp.atroseptica (Eca), were subjected to the same fertilization treatment. The incidence of blackleg and the level of seed tuber decay increased from the uninoculated treatment to the higher inoculum level, but the degree varied considerably from one year to another. Cv. Bintje was more susceptible to blackleg and yield loss caused by Eca than cv. Record. In 1990, when disease incidence was high, the proportion of blackleg stems increased with increasing doses of nitrogen fertilizer which had been applied to the seed crop, but was not significantly affected in 1988 and 1992. Seed tuber decay was retarded by the lowest nitrogen dose. The yield of the subsequent crop was not affected by the nitrogen dose applied to the seed crop.     

Optimisation of a dehydration process for potato cubes using an intermediate puffing step

Summary Factors affecting the volume expansion of potato cubes during puffing in a fluidised bed were examined. It was found that puffing temperature, initial size, pre-drying time and puffing time influenced the degree of expansion of the cube during the puffing step. Blanching alone was found not to influence expansion, but in conjunction with the other factors it was found that blanched samples showed greater volume expansion than unblanched samples. The optimum conditions for maximum volume expansion were found to be; blanching for 80 s, cube size between 7.5–12.5 mm, pre-drying time of 90 min. at 90°C and a puffing time of 270s at 130°C.     

The effect of water stress on the yielding capacity of potato crops and subsequent performance of seed tubers

Summary The effect of water stress on yielding capacity of potatoes was studied in 3 years using four different levels of soil water potential (0.7, 1.9, 3.4 and 7.8 atm.) in experiments in specially adapted structures that excluded uncontrolled water supply. Seed tubers from these crops were planted in the following years to investigate effects of water stress on their subsequent performance. Limited soil moisture availability decreased yield and the number and size of tubers. The growing period was shortened by 1–4 weeks and dormancy period by 2–8 weeks. In the following year, seed produced under conditions of moisture stress gave plants with 20% fewer stems. 24–33% less yield, 18–22% fewer tubers and 19–22% fewer large tubers than plants from seed produced under abundant water supply. It is concluded that the yield potential of seed tubers can be improved by careful attention to the availability of soil moisture during their production.     

Tuberization in potato at high temperatures: Responses to exogenous gibberellin,cytokinin and ethylene

Summary In potato (Solanum tuberosum L., cv. Sebago), benzyladenine (BA) promoted tuberization at high day/night temperatures (32°/18°C), while gibberrellic acid (GA) and chlorethylphosphonic acid (CEPA) reduced tuberization at low day/night temperatures (22°/18°C). These results are consistent with the hypothesis that temperature exerts its influence on tuber formation by altering the balance between endogenous gibberellins, cytokinins and inhibitors, but not ethylene.     

Effect of saline irrigation and water deficit on tuber quality

Summary The effect of salinity and water dificit on the quality of tubers for processing was investigated. Total tuber yield was not affected by the treatments, while the percentage of non-marketable tubers was significantly reduced by high salinity (EC_i=6dS m⁻¹) and by water reduction. Accumulation of dry matter in the tubers was increased by all the treatments, that of proline by salinity only and the content of reducing sugars was increased only by water deficit. The colour of the french fries was similar in tubers from the various treatments.     

Yield prediction using the SUBSTOR-potato model under Argentinian conditions

Summary The use of crop simulation models to predict yield, associated with decision support systems such as Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT), are useful tools to test different management strategies. The potato growth model included in DSSAT is SUBSTOR-potato. To evaluate its performance in Argentina it was calibrated and validated using experimental results from different sites and years. Cultivar-specific coefficients were obtained during calibration. Validation based on several independent sets of field data, including cvs Huinkul, Kennebec, Mailén and Spunta showed good agreement (R²=0.915; n=24) between observed and simulated values in normal ranges of tuber yields. However, when the input parameter maturity date was not taken into account, tuber yields were overvalued due to an overestimation of LAI values during maturation. To solve this problem, a genetic coefficient for the duration of tuber filling needs to be included in the model.     

Seed tuber production from true potato seed (TPS) in Egypt and the influence of environmental conditions in different growing periods

Summary The effect of environmental conditions on seed tuber production from true potato seed (TPS) in nurseries was evaluated in different growing periods during two seasons in Egypt. In the autumn season, high soil and air temperatures reduced emergence and initial foliage development of early-sown seedlings, and decreased tuber yields. In late-sown seedlings low night temperatures and short daylengths caused early tuberization, poor foliage development and low tuber yields. In the spring season, low temperatures and short daylengths resulted in a slow initial foliage development and early haulm-tuber competition for assimilates in early-sown seedlings. However, tuber yields were higher than for late-sown seedlings, presumably because net assimilation and assimilate partitioning to the tubers were impaired by above optimum air and soil temperatures in May and June. Slow development of true seed-sown plants caused a high sensitivity towards adverse environmental conditions and would limit yielding ability in Egypt.     

Heterosis and combining ability analysis for resistance to early blight (Alternaria solani) in potato

Summary In an epiphytotic year of early blight, data were recorded on its incidence in 72 progenies (18 females x 4 males) and their parents planted in a randomised complete block design at the Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, India. Combining ability analysis showed that both additive and non-additive gene action were important, with a preponderance of the latter in the inheritance of resistance to early blight. In general, progenies were as good as or better than mid-parent values. Crosses involving both or at least one parent with good general combining ability resulted in heterotic early blight resistant progenies. Promising parents and crosses were identified.     

Changes in potato starch quality during growth

Summary Potato starch quality parameters (amylose concentration, glucose-6-phosphate content and granule size) were analyzed in relation to the harvesting date and tuber size of four cultivars. A significant increase in the glucose-6-phosphate content and granule size of starch was observed during tuber growth, whereas the amylose concentration was constant. Granule size increased markedly, whereas glucose-6-phosphate content showed slightly increasing values with increasing tuber size. Amylose concentration showed no correlation with tuber size. We conclude that the changes in the granule size, glucose-6-phosphate and amylose content of potato starch during growth are independent of each other.     

Application of Soluble Chitosan in vitro and in the Greenhouse to Increase Yield and Seed Quality of Potato Minitubers

The aim of this work was to investigate whether the application of soluble chitosan in potato micropropagation can improve microplant quality in vitro, help acclimatisation ex vitro, and increase yield and seed quality of minitubers. Potato cv. Désirée microplants were treated in vitro with soluble chitosan added to the semisolid tissue culture medium in different concentrations. Microplants were subsequently transferred to the greenhouse and sprayed with chitosan solutions or remained unsprayed. Untreated microplants were also established ex vitro and sprayed with chitosan, or left unsprayed as a control. Morphological and physiological parameters of plant growth were assessed in vitro and ex vitro. Plantlet quality was evaluated using a ranking system. Minitubers derived from greenhouse plantlets were planted in the field in subtropical conditions, and growth and yield parameters evaluated. The chitosan concentration most beneficial to the in vitro growth of microplants varied between years. In treatments with the best in vitro growth, minituber number and yield in the greenhouse was also increased. Foliar chitosan application at the acclimatisation phase stabilised the effect of in vitro treatment on yield parameters. The seed quality of minitubers derived from chitosan treatments in vitro alone and in combination with foliar treatment at acclimatisation was improved, giving rise to field plants with increased tuber numbers and yields. The combination of chitosan in vitro and foliar application during the acclimatisation phase ex vitro had a greater effect on minituber seed quality than the concentration applied in vitro.     

Relation between growth conditions and dormancy of seed potatoes. 1. Effects of nitrogen

Summary The duration of dormancy of seed potatoes varies between years and between origins. Therefore, the effects of conditions during crop growth on dormancy of progeny tubers were studied. The effect of nitrogen during tuber bulking on the duration of dormancy was investigated in three field experiments with two cultivars. In addition to an application of 125 kg N/ha at planting, top dressings of 0–150 kg N/ha were given about 2 weeks after tuber initiation. Haulm was pulled about 4 weeks later. The effect of nitrogen rate at planting was also examined in one experiment. Nitrogen top dressings shortened dormancy in all experiments by 5–8 days. An increased nitrogen rate at planting resulted in a shorter dormancy when the duration of dormancy was expressed in days after tuber initiation, but not when it was expressed in days after haulm pulling, probably because extra nitrogen also delayed tuber initiation.     

Potato minituber production from nodal cuttings compared to wholein vitro plantlets using low volume media in a greenhouse

Summary A greenhouse minituber production system involving low inputs of in vitro potato plantlets and propagation media is described, in vitro plantlets of six potato cultivars were sectioned into nodal cuttings and separately planted into moist peat based growing medium in shallow plastic trays. Cultivar differences were evident with respect to node viability, shoot regrowth and minituber yields. Nodal viability for shoot regrowth varied between 80–100%. Maximum shoot heights were recorded with whole in vitro plantlets (WIP) and the terminal Node-5 cluster. All cuttings produced minitubers. The terminal Node-5 cutting and WIP produced significantly larger minitubers >3.0 g as compared to single node cuttings. Greater numbers of minitubers were produced by the cvs Norchip, Red Pontiac and Conestoga as compared to cvs Eramosa. G8610-4PY and Shepody. Total numbers of minitubers were 3 to 5 times higher from each in vitro plantlet that was sectioned into nodal cuttings as compared with intact WIP: the yield ratios depended on cultivar.     

Morphological changes in tuber buds during dormancy and initial sprout growth of seed potatoes

Summary Potato tuber dormancy is usually defined as lasting from tuber initiation until a sprout of 2 mm long has been formed under storage conditions optimal for sprouting. We tried to find out whether there is a period during which buds of seed tubers do not grow and whether different batches of seed take the same time to grow sprouts 2 mm long. We measured changes in number of leaf primordia and length of tuber buds of cvs Diamant and Désirée over two years. After early haulm pulling, buds did not grow for at least 60 days (‘Diamant’) or 95 days (‘Désirée’). Buds in both cultivars and two tuber weights of ‘Diamant’ took about 20 days from the estimated onset of sprouting to grow 2 mm long. We question whether this period is always similar and thus whether the moment sprouts 2 mm long have formed is a good criterion for the end of dormancy.     

Variation in tuber pathogenicity ofPhytophthora infestans in the Netherlands

Summary Variation in aggressiveness to tubers among isolates ofPhytophthora infestans sampled from three potato growing regions in the Netherlands was compared. Variation in the ability to infect tubers of cv. Bintje was found between isolates of each of the three regional populations. The most aggressive isolate of the old population matched the average level of the new population in its ability to infect tubers. As a consequence, the commonly used reference isolate VK 6C can no longer be considered to be representative of the present population ofP. infestans. Therefore it is recommended that testing tuber resistance for the official list of potato cultivars with this isolate should be discontinued. Tuber infection and subsequent spread of the fungus in the tuber tissues were not found to be correlated. The components of tuber pathogenicity studied were not correlated to pathogenicity factors in the foliage, as measured under growth chamber conditions.