The document discusses potato production technology in India. It provides details on potato varieties grown in India for table and processing purposes, along with their characteristics. It also discusses value added potato products that can be produced, such as potato chips, fries, starch and flour. The document highlights the development of seed plot technique for disease-free seed production and true potato seed technology. It summarizes contributions of potato research, including standardized tissue culture techniques, in vitro conservation methods, and development of transgenic potatoes.

1. Potato Production
Technology

2. • Potato (Solanum tuberosum) is designated as “Food for Future” by FAO because of its
• high productivity and nutritive value.
• It has already emerged as the third most important food crop in the world after rice and wheat.
• India ranks second after China with a production and productivity of 51.31 million MT and 24.00
t/ha, respectively covering an area of 2.14 million ha.
• However, it is projected that India needs to produce 55.00 and 122 million MT of potatoes by 2025
and 2050, respectively to meet the demand of the growing population and economy.
• The per capita consumption of fresh potato in India is a paltry 15 Kg/year compared to 193 and 126
Kg/year in Denmark and The Netherlands respectively.
• Therefore, there is a wide scope to increase potato consumption and production in the country.

3. • Potato is the fourth most important food crop and is a wholesome food. In India,
potatoes
• have been utilized largely for consumption as fresh potatoes and the major part of
potato harvest (approx. 68.5%) goes to domestic table consumption.
• Whereas, in the developed countries, table potato utilization is merely 31%, rest
being frozen French fries (30%), chips and shoestrings (12%) and dehydrated
products (12%).
• Potatoes can be processed into a number of value added products like chips,
French fries, flakes, granules, dice and canned potatoes on a commercial scale.
• In addition industrially useful products like potato flour and potato starch can also
be produced on a large scale.
• Village level processing of potatoes can also be done to prepare dehydrated
products like dehydrated chips, papads, etc.

4. VALUE ADDED PRODUCTS
• Potato chips:
French fries
Potato Starch:1 kg of potatoes will yield 70-100 g of
starch
Potato Flour: 1 kg potatoes will yield about 200 g flour
Dehydrated potato products: thick slices, shreds and
papads

5. • Potato varieties Duration (days) Yield
(t/ha)
Table/ware purpose
Early
• Kufri Chandramukhi 70-80 20-25
• Kufri Ashoka 70-80 25-30
• Kufri Pukhraj 70-80 30-35
• Kufri Surya 70-80 25-30
• Kufri Khyati 70-80 30-35
• Kufri Lima 70-80 25-30
Medium
• Kufri Bahar 90-100 30-35
• Kufri Pukhraj 90-100 35-40
• Kufri Khyati 90-100 35-40
• Kufri Sadabahar 90-100 35-40
• Kufri Gaurav 90-100 35-40
• Kufri Garima 90-100 35-40
• Kufri Mohan 90-100 35-40
• Kufri Ganga 90-100 35-40
• Kufri Arun 90-100 35-40
• Kufri Neelkanth 90-100 35-40
• Kufri Lalima 90-100 20-25
Late
• Kufri Badshah 100-110 30-40
• Kufri Anand 100-110 40-45
• Kufri Sindhuri 100-110 30-35
Processing purposes Potato varieties Duration (days) Yield
(t/ha)
Kufri Chipsona 1 100-120 30-35
Kufri Chipsona 3 100-120 35-40
Kufri Chipsona 4 100-110 35-40
Kufri Frysona 110-120 35-40
Kufri FryOm 100-110 35-40

6. Table 1: Important characters of some Indian potato varieties determining processing quality
• Variety Shape/Size Dry matter (%) Reducing sugars (mg/100g f. wt) Acrylamide
(μg/Kg f. wt)
• Kufri Chipsona-1 Oval/Large 21-24 45-100 < 100
• Kufri Chipsona-2 Round/Large 21-25 44-93
<100
• Kufri Chipsona-3 Round-Oval medium 22-24 30-50
< 200
• Kufri Chipsona-4 Round 21-23 60-140
< 200
• Kufri Frysona Oblong/ Large 22-23 <100 <
100
• Kufri Himsona Oval/ Medium 20-25 <50 <
200
• Kufri Jyoti Oval/Large 18-21 106-275 < 800
• Kufri Lauvkar Round/Large 18-20 200-250 <
300
• Kufri Chandramukhi Oval/large 18-20 250-324 < 500

7. Fig. 1. Tractor operated digger elevator
Fig. 2. Two row Potato combine harvester

8. Fig. 4. Potato sorting and grading machine

9. Growth cracks: The causes of growth cracks are not well understood. It is attributed to
fluctuating
water stress or changes in tuber growth rates. In addition to the abiotic stresses, there is also a
heritable component, which does not result in clearly delineated groups, suggesting that a number
of minor genes may be involved. Therefore, for selection of this character one has to rely on
observations in various environments over a number of years, as is presently practiced.
Hollow heart: Hollow heart is a physiological defect resulting from an internal cavity of varying
dimensions. It is found more frequently in the larger tubers. Development of hollow heart is often
associated with periods of rapid tuber growth, which may have been preceded by a period of
moisture or nutritional stress. The expression of this trait is affected by various environmental and
genetical factors.
Greening: Potato tubers exposed to light in the field, during or after the harvest develop a green
pigmentation, initially at the surface and subsequently throughout the whole tuber. This condition
is caused by the formation of chlorophyll. Greening of potatoes is often associated with an
increased level of glycoalkaloids, which impart a bitter taste to the tubers and are poisonous.
Tubergreening is inherited in a quantitative manner with most of the variation being additive.
However,broad sense heritability was sufficiently large to permit effective selection within the
potato breeding programmes

10. Seed Plot Technique
• The basic information on build up of aphid population in various
regions made it possible to develop Seed Plot Technique for growing
healthy seed potato in sub tropical plains of India under low aphid
periods (Pushkarnath, 1967).
• Seed plot technique in brief can be described as raising the crop
during a period, when aphid population is very low after taking pre-
cautions such as use of insecticides against aphids, periodical rouging
of mosaic (virus) affected plants and finally dehaulming the crop
before aphids population attained the critical level of 20 aphids per
100 compound leaves.

11. • TRUE POTATO SEED (TPS)
•
• True Potato seed (TPS) was first evolved through sexual reproduction like tomato, chili, brinjal etc., by Ramanujam in1957 and
subsequently its commercial viability was tested. However, high heterozygosity of seedlings of TPS and uniformity in crop hampered its
commercial adoption by farmers.
• How to use TPS
• Initially TPS is sown in nursery for raising seedlings which are latter transplanted in properly prepared seed bed but the process
becomes labour intensive and very expensive. The TPS was tested and tried at international Potato Centre and Central Potato Research
Centre Institute (CPRI) Shimla and recommended ways for eliminating raising seedlings and then transplanting. The method suggested
two stage programme for raising healthy seeds, i. e.-
• Production of tuberlets in nursery beds in the first year.
• Storing them in cold store and planting them thickly as commercial crop in the following year. The method however needs testing field
for its yield and economic viability. A seed rate of 50-150 g/hectare is used for sowing.
• Advantages with TPS
• Following are the advantages of TPS-
1. This technique is used for disease free seed production. It is the technique for virus free seed production.
2. Cost of tubers used in conventional method of planting is very high whereas the production of tuberlets in nursery for planting in next
year relatively very low.
3. Higher cost required for storage of huge bulk of conventionally used tubers is reduced as tuberlets (being very small in size) require
very little space for storage. This also reduces cost in transplantation.
4. The viral infiltration in the seed tuber is also less.
5. The cost of tuber treating chemicals is also reduced because of relatively lesser volume of tuberlets.
6. By this method, the disease free potato seed can be produced and prevention of diseases to new areas can be checked.

12. TRUE POTATO SEED (TPS) TECHNOLOGY
• Cultivation through true potato seed is beneficial because:
• Seed material as potato tubers required to cultivate 1.32 m ha area is around 33 m q (seed rate 25 q/ha). Quality seed production, certification and storage of such a huge
quantity is very difficult.
• Transportation of such a huge material is also difficult and costly and can be used as food material.
• True seed is free from viruses and many other diseases as their management is easy due to small area. Cost of cultivation is also less.
• Methods of using true potato seed
• To raise seedlings and then transplanting
• Sowing of seed in nursery beds and then raising them for obtaining small sized potato tubers which are used for cultivation of the next crop. These seeds are sown in raised beds.
• Problems associated with use of true potato seed
• Seed is very small and weak as compared to tomato, brinjal etc.
• It is not grown very deep and also low application of fertilizers is required.
• It very difficult to maintain optimum moisture conditions as it is sown very near to the surface.
• Poor germination and unhealthy and weak nursery seedlings of potato are creating problems to farmers.
• Therefore, farmers are not enthusiastic to take up this venture on large scale cultivation.
• Refined technique for raising TPS
• Make nursery bed of size 2 m x 1m and then bricks are laid on these beds. Fine soil and FYM in equal proportion is put on these bricks making the surface 4-5 cm raised.
• Irrigation is given on the surface and the moisture is reaches to the surface through capillary action of the bricks.
• Sowing is done on this surface of the bricks. Seed is mixed with fine and well decomposed FYM and then put FYM on the raised surface for good germination or after
broadcasting, the seed is covered with FYM.
• 3-4 small seeds are kept at equal spacing on one brick which is covered with FYM to raise small sized tubers. Irrigation is given up to the half level of bricks.

13. • Development of “Seed Plot Technique” made it possible to carry out disease-free seed production
in the plains under low aphid periods and establish a national disease-free seed production
programme. This programme annually produces about 2600 t of breeder’s seed, which is sufficient
for the country’s requirement if multiplied and utilized properly. The availability of disease free seed
in adequate quantities is a major input for significant increase in potato production in the country.
“Seed Plot Technique” was also instrumental in decentralization of potato breeding programme. This
technique enabled seedling raising, evaluation, selection and multiplication of breeding material
under disease free condition in the plains. This has greatly helped in development of zone-specific
varieties and varietal diversification.
 Identification of suitable parental lines for production of high yielding botanical seed (TPS) and its
use for raising commercial crop in potato seed deficient areas is another important contribution of
potato research. Three TPS populations, viz. HPS I/13, TPS C-3 and 92-PT- 27 have been identified
for commercialization. However, of late it has been observed that the technology needs some more
refinements for its successful adoption.

14. • Standardized tissue culture techniques for micropropagation, in vitro
conservation of genetic resources and genetic transformation. Meristem culture
coupled with micropropagation has been successfully integrated with potato seed
production programme.
• More than 1300 germplasm accessions have been conserved in in vitro form and
we plan to conserve entire germplasm within next 15 years. An efficient method
has also been developed for long term cryoconservation in potato.
• Potato transgenics have been developed for late blight durable resistance (RB-
transgenics), reduction of cold-induced sweetening, superior nutritional quality
(AmA1 gene of Amaranthus hypochondriacus), insect resistance (cry1Ab gene),
virus resistance. Field testing of RB transgenic potato showed very good level of
late blight resistance. Field trial with AmA1 transgenic potato showed no yield
loss of the selected transgenic lines. DNA fingerprinting of released potato
cultivars and advanced potato hybrids completed.

15. • Institute has standardized method
• of storing potatoes at elevated temperature (10-12 0C) by incorporating the component of
• CIPC spray to check sprout growth. This has revolutionized continuous availability of raw
• material for processing in the country.