Canada: Wild breed shows potential for developing drought-resistant potato

Published 2024년 5월 20일

Tridge summary

Researchers in Charlottetown, led by Bourlaye Fofana of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, are working on developing a new breed of drought-resistant potato. The team is exploring wild potato varieties from the South American Andes, with a focus on diploid varieties easier to work with in the lab. These wild potatoes could help address the lack of genetic diversity among commercial potato varieties and the challenges of climate change. The research has identified 127 clones that are late-maturing and drought tolerant, and nine that are early to moderate-late maturing and drought tolerant. Ninety-five of the most promising clones will be further evaluated in Fredericton for size, yield, and cooking and processing traits.

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Original content

CHARLOTTETOWN — Federal scientists in Atlantic Canada are trying to develop a new breed of potato that is better adapted to growing conditions brought on by climate change. Bourlaye Fofana, a research scientist at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, leads a team in Charlottetown that has examined wild potato varieties native to the South American Andes and that show potential to help the development of a more drought-resistant potato for North American markets. There are more than 5,000 potato varieties worldwide, says the Agriculture Department, and that high number has decreased the genetic differences between many of them, making some potatoes less resilient to disease and to climate change. “We see a lot of problems because genetic diversity among these cultivated commercial varieties is quite narrow,” Fofana said in an interview. “With climate change and heat waves, this lack of genetic diversity could be a big problem in the future.” Most commercial varieties of potatoes are ...

Source: Timescolonist