Potato is an important crop worldwide and in India. It was introduced to India in the 17th century from South America. Potato breeding aims to develop varieties with traits like increased yield, earliness, pest and disease resistance. As a tetraploid crop, potato has complex genetics. Breeding efforts focus on traits like tuber appearance, plant type, maturity, dormancy, and resistance to diseases like late blight and viruses.

1. University of HorticulturalSciences,Bagalkot
College of Horticulture,Banglore
Breeding aspects of potato
Presented by
Ikram Haider
Jr. MSc.-VSC-512

2. Scientific name: Solanum tuberosum
Family :Solanaceae
Genus :Solanum
Sub genus :Pachystemonum
Section :Petota
Subsection: Potatoe
Series - Tuberosa
Of the 2000 species of the genus solanum more than 200 are tuberiferous and
20 are cultivated species
POTATO

3. Introduction
 Potato is a very popular vegetable grown all over the world and
important food crop of grown more than 100 countries in world.
 Potato was distributed to the rest of the world from Europe
 In India, potato has been cultivated since its introduction in early
part of 17 th century.
 Potato popularly known as ‘The king of vegetables’, has emerged
as fourth most important food crop in India after rice, wheat and
maize.
 India is the 2nd largest producer of Potato after China. (FAOSTAT
2018)

4. ORIGIN
 SOUTH AMERICA
 It is believed that the cultivated
potato originated from its wild
ancestors near the lake Tritica basin in
Peru Bolivian region in high mountains
 Potato was introduced into India by
Portugese in 17 th century
 It was originated from wild diploid
species Solanum leptophytes and the
first domesticated species was Solanum stenotum

5. Food value
 Potato is a nutritious food as it contains practically all the essential dietary
constituents like cereals and carbohydrates.
 Nutrients - Proteins and minerals like calcium ,phosphorus and iron and
Vitamins (B1,B2,B6 and C).
 It is an important crop for high population areas of Asia.
 About 50 % of potato produced in the world utilized as as human food.
 Consumed in the form of papad,fluor, cooked in curries and sambar, chips
and french fries
 Starch and alcohol is also extracted to a limited extent

7. BOTANY
 HABIT :Potato is a much branched ,erect
spreading spreading herb,growing 0.5 -1.5m height
 Stem - generally solid or hollow
 Leaves are compound,pinnate ,10-20 cm
long alternatively arranged
 Inflorescence - Monochasial cyme
 Flower: vary in colour from white,creamy,pink,purple
Flowers are hermophrodite
 Mature fruit - Berry

8. Potato tuber is a modified stem
 In tropics and sub-tropics, conditions conducive to flowering and
fruiting are available only at high altitudes (>1500m above sea level)
where crop is grown during summer season.
Tuber formation includes two processes, viz., Stolon formation and
tuberization of the stolon tips.
Potato stolons (underground stem) are lateral shoots, usually from the most
basal nodes below soil level.
• Typically they are diageotropic shoots with elongated internodes, hooked
at tip.
At the end of stolons, tuberisation takes place
• Tubers develop from the sub-apical region of stolons.

9. Tuberisation in potato

10. POTATO FLOWER
 CALYX: 5 lobed,gamosepalous
 COROLLA :gamopetalous ,5 lobed
 Stamens are 5, alternate,with corolla lobes.
Anthers are erect longer than the filaments with
apical dehiscence
 The anthers form a cone-shaped structure
through lateral joinings, to conceal the ovary
 OVARY :Superior, bicarpellary
 Placentation : axial
 A photoperiod of 14-18 hours and night temperature of 15 to
20°C favour flower production

11. FLOWER BIOLOGY
 Anthesis time and closing of flowers varies with varieties and species
 Cool wet weather makes flowering more while hot weather depresses
flowering
 Pollen production is abundant from early morning to 10am
 Bombus impatiens is very effective in pollinating potatoes in the field
 Stigma receptivity and anther dehiscence are also at the same time
 Wind or gravity has no significance in the pollination
 Most of the commercial potatoes have been proved to be either pollen
sterile or to possess little pollen of low fertility
 Diploid species have abundant pollen

12. CYTOLOGY
 Potato has basic chromosome number 12.
Form diploid to hexaploid species are available.
 Cultivated potato S. tuberosum is an autotetraploid (2n=48)
 About 75% species are diploid while about 15% species are tetraploids.
 Triploids and pentaploids are highly sterile and maintained by vegetative
propagation.
 S.stenotomum & S.phureja are cultivated diploids
 S.chaucha & S.juzepezukii are cultivated triploid, more or less sterile.
 The cultivated tetraploid species S.tuberosum spp tuberosum & S.tuberosum spp
andigena are fertile.
 S.curtilobum is pentaploid.

13.  S. tuberosum ssp. tuberosum produces tubers under long days or short
days in the tropics or lower altitudes of 500-2000 m above MSL.
 Solanum tuberosurm ssp. andigena produces tubers at high altitude
only (above 2000 m) under short day conditions
 Regular meiosis has been observed in diploid, allotetraploid &
allohexaploids.
 Nearly all the diploid species are self-incompatible while all the
tetraploids & hexaploids are self-compatible.

14. Genetics of traits:
CHARACTER NUMBER OF GENES TYPE OF GENE ACTION
1)SKIN COLOUR DIGENIC Complementary
D-R-RED
D- rr-white
Dd R WHITE
dd rr- White
2)POSITION OF EYE MONOGENIC Flat eye is incompletely dominant to
deep eye
3)FLESH COLOUR MONOGENIC Yellow colour is incompletely dominant
to white
4)STOLON MONOGENIC Long stolon is dominant to short stolon
5)Tuber axis - Long tuber axis dominant

15. STERILITY
 The majority of modern potato cultivars suffer from male sterility
This reduces the choice of pollen parents in potato breeding
 Some varieties rarely flower at all, others will flower but rarely form
berries even if cross pollinated, and others will drop their berries before
they mature, particularly if the climate is not just right
Stained potato pollen
Red (stained) grains are viable and clear grains are not.
Photo: International Potato Center (CIP)

16. Incompatibility
 Implementing the breeding efforts at diploid level will allow to exploit the
genetic potential of diploid potato for improvement.
But most of the diploid (2n = 2x = 24) tuber bearing potato species is
gametophytically self-incompatible (SI).
 Gametophytic self-incompatibility controlled by the multiallelic S-locus
consisting two genes,
1. pistil determinant, stylar S gene and
2. pollen determinant, pollen S gene.

17. Breeding objectives
 Earliness
 Photoperiod insenstivity
 Responsiveness to fertilizers
 Better keeping quality(resistance or tolerance against
shrinkage,rottage,accumilation of sugars specially reducing sugars
 Resistant to late blight,early blight, charcoal rot ,wart,common scab,
bacterial wilt, soft rot, viral diseases and nematodes

18. Breeding uniqueness
 Propagated asexually.
 Transmission of diseases through tubers.
 Easy maintenance and multiplication of elite material in original state
through vegetative propagation.
 Complex tetrasomic inheritance due to autotetraploidy.
 Diverse source of germplasm including wild relatives for resistance to
biotic and abiotic stresses

19. Yield
 Yield is the major objective of most potato breeding programs.
The components to be considered include tuber number and weight.
The yield capacity is quantitatively inherited
Tuber appearance
 The tubers should be of reasonably uniform size and shape,
Smooth shapes, shallow eyes, and white or yellow flesh are always preferred.
 Simple inheritance is not observed for these internal and external tuber defects,
and yearly environmental variation can greatly affect their expression.
Plant type
 Preference has been given to plants that are vigorous, upright and open
The stolons should be medium to short in length and should set tubers deep
enough to avoid sun greening.

20. Maturity
 The yield of a potato cultivar is dependent upon its maturity.
A later-maturing cultivar is more likely to out yield early maturing ones.
Therefore, a new cultivar should be compared within its maturity group
(early, mid-season or late).
Dormancy
 Adequate tuber dormancy is necessary for good storage ability; however, it
should not be too strong or it may retard emergence when tubers are used for
seed.
 Long-term storage of potatoes is usually at 4-5 °C.
Processing potatoes (for chips or fries) are normally stored at 10-12 °C to
decrease reducing-sugar accumulation
Dormancy is inherited in a polygenic manner

21. Pest and disease resistance
 Disease resistance is invaluable in a cultivar.
Unfortunately, there are over 75 potato pests, and it is impossible to breed for resistance to all of them.
Viral diseases
 The potato leaf-roll virus (PLRV) and potato virus Y (PVY) are the two most devastating viruses worldwide
and can severely reduce yields.
 Resistance to PLRV is polygenic and has been difficult to incorporate into cultivars.
Late blight
 Late blight (Phytophthora infestans) attacks both leaves and tubers, which may differ in susceptibility.
Resistance-Solanum demissum (2n =6x = 72) to current cultivars
Scab
Scab disease, caused by Streptomyces scabies,
 Although the organism does not reduce the plant’s vigor, the occurrence of scabby tubers reduces the
marketable yield.
The disease is associated with lighter soil types, high pH reaction, and drought periods during tuber
initiation.
Nematodes
 The potato cyst nematodes (Globodera rostochienis and G. pallida) thrive in fields.
Resistance has been identified in S. tuberosum subsp. andigena and is determined by a single dominant
gene

22. Diseases
Scab
Late blight
Potato virus

23. Quality attributes
Dry matter
 In the processing potatoes, solids content (19% or greater) is preferred because product
output is greater, and the potatoes will cook faster, have a better texture and absorb less
oil if used in chip or french-fry processing., and
the inheritance of dry matter content is polygenic.
Reducing sugar content
 In the chip processing industry, light-colored chips are preferred.
Chips color can be evaluated visually or by caolorimetric reflectance..
The inheritance of chips colour is considered complex.
Glycoalkaloid content
 Potato tubers have low levels of glycoalkaloids, comprising mainly solanine and
chaconine. A concentration of 20 mg per 100 g fresh weight considered safe.
If higher concentrations develop in the tuber, a bitter taste is noted, and at very high
concentrations these compounds can be poisonous.

24. Requirement of potato varieties for different purposes (Luthra et
al., 2004)

25. Potato breeding development in India
• In India, potato breeding programme was initiated in 1935 at the Potato Breeding Station,
Shimla.
• Regular breeding programme was started in 1949 with the establishment of the Central Potato
Research Institute (CPRI) at Patna, Bihar.
• Headquarter of the CPRI was later on shifted to Shimla (1956) in order to facilitate
hybridization and maintenance of seed health.
• The major breakthrough in potato improvement programme came in 1963 with the
development of “Seed Plot Technique”, which made it possible to raise, evaluate, select and
multiply breeding material under disease free conditions in plains.
• This led to the development of a system, wherein crossing was attempted in the hills and
raising of seedling, evaluation and maintenance of segregating population was done in the
plains.
• All varieties released by the CPRI carry the prefix ‘KUFRI’ as a memento to the place of
hybridization.

27. Breeding Methods
• Introduction
• Clonal selection
• Hybridization and selection
• Backcross method
• Heterosis
• Biotechnology

28. Introduction
• The introduced European varieties were long-day adapted
• The multiplication of these varieties in Indian conditions was accompanied
by progressive accumulation of degenerative viral diseases
Earlier varieties
 1) Criags defence
 2)Magnum bonum
 3)Up-to-date
Secondary introductions –
 Hybrid DN-45- Katahdin × President
 Kufri kisan is a multiple cross involving Ekishrozn from Japan

29. CLONAL SELECTION
 Kufri red from Darjeeling red round
 Kufri safed is selction from phulwa

30. HYBRIDIZATION IN POTATO
(A) Emasculation (B) Pollination
(C) Potato berries and (D) Hybrid true potato seed.

31. Hybridization technique
 Potato naturally flowers under cool climate and long-day condition of more than
15hrs light.
Such conditions are available during long-summer days when potatoes are grown
in hills.
Hills are therefore, ideal for hybridization work.
 Potato flowers are hermaphrodite (bisexual) and therefore emasculation is done in
selected female parents mostly in the evening.
 Flowers from selected fertile male parents are collected a day in advance, shade
dried and pollens extracted next day in the morning in petri- dish or container
 Pollination : In the morning
 Bagging : 2-3 days
 Berry setting : 5-7 days
 Seed extraction : From ripened berries by macerating in water and separating the
seeds from pulp by repeated washing

32. Flower Induction by extended photoperiod
• Under short day conditions, flowering in potato is achieved through
extended photoperiod (LD) of 6 hours by 250w high pressure
sodium vapour lamps.
• Three repeated sprays of GA 50 ppm + IBA 10 ppm + Kinetin 2 ppm
at week interval starting from bud initiation stage enhances the
flowering intensity, flowering duration and advances the flowering as
well.
• However hormonal induced flowering (LD+H) reduces flower vigour
and size and in some genotypes abnormal flowers are obtained
leading to pollen sterility
Flower Induction by hormonal treatment

33. Hybridization and selection
 In hybridization, crosses are made between selected parents.
Hybridization can be between varieties(intervarietal) or between
species(interspecific).
 Since yield and most of the desirable characters are polygenic in nature, the
parents for hybridization are generally selected on the basis of their
combining ability.
 Being vegetatively propagated, breeders take advantage of selecting and
multiplying genetically identical individuals in the succeeding generations.
 KUFRI KUNDAN-selection from Ekishrozan×katahdin
 KUFRI JYOTHI –Selection from A-3069×A-2814

34. Back cross method
 Cultivated potato does not posses resistance to most of the diseases and pests.
Resistance genes are mostly found scattered in wild and semi-cultivated species
available in centre of origin and diversity in South America.
 In this method the hybridization is done between cultivated and wild or semi
cultivated species with the aim of transferring specific characters like resistance
to diseases and pests.
 It is followed by repeated back crossing keeping cultivated type as recurrent
parent.
 Selection is practiced in successive back cross generation for the character to be
retained from the wild species.
 However, transfer of the resistant genes from wild species into cultivated potato
is a difficult task.

35. Sources of resistance to various diseases in wild potato species
Diseases Sources
Viruses - PVX S. acaule, S. berthaultii, S. tuberosum subsp. andigena
PVY S. phureja, S. demissum, S. stoloniferum
PLRV S. acaule, S. demissum, S. tuberosum subsp. andigena
Late blight Vertical S. demissum, S. verrucosum, S. stoloniferum
Horizontal S. berthaultii, S. chacoense, S. microdontum, S. vernei
Wart S. acaule, S. berthaultii.
Common scab S. chacoense, S. tuberosum ssp. andigena
Bacterial wilt S. chacoense, S. microdontum,
Cyst nematodes S. tuberosum subsp. andigena, S. berthaultii. S. vernei
Root knot nematode S. spegazzinii
Aphids S. berthaultii.
Frost S. acaule, S. ajanhuiri
Heat tolerance S. chacoense, S. commersonii
High protein content S. phureja

36. HETEROSIS
 Heterosis is observed for earliness, tuber size and tuber weight
 Pollen sterility is common
 Inbreeding depression is more
 Seed set is poor
 Not exploited

37. BIOTECHNOLOGY
 The application of biotechnology in potato breeding has been found useful
in many ways
 Tissue culture technique is used for propagation of virus free plant material
It can generate somaclonal variation useful for selection
 Protoplast fusion by somatic fusion of leaf mesophyll protoplasts has
provided opportunity to transfer useful genes especially for disease and
insect resistance from wild species and other diverse sources to cultivated
potatoes.

38.  Genetic transformation through Agrobacterium tuminifaciens in genetic
engineering,incorporation of bt gene for insect control and insertion of genes for
herbicide resistance,and high amino acid contents are other applications of
biotechnology in potato
 The CPRI has successfully developed protocol for genetic transformation using
the agrobacterium vector
 Transgenics through transformation are being devoloped to have potato lines
resistant to tuber moth,virus,late blight and also for nutritive quality and
processing quality
Anthocyanin rich
transgenic potato

39.  It is also succeeded in transferrring the Cry-1 (Bt) gene to potato varieties
for incorporating resistance to potato tubermoth and leaf eating caterpillar
 CPRI has devoloped trangenic potato which can resist viral diseases.
This gene has been taken from potato virus y and transferred to the variety
kufri jyothi using coat protein technique
 A protein nutrient rich trangenic potato has been devoloped by
incorporating the protein synthesizer gene Am A1 (STORAGE GRAIN
PROTEIN GENE) in potato varieties
 The protein synthesizer gene was isolated from amaranthus
hypochondriacus
It contains 3-4 times more essential amino acids

40.  The first GM potato appeared in the market in 1995 was named “NewLeaf” by
Monsanto®, which was genetically engineered using a toxin Bt gene to generate
resistance against Colorado beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata) (Kilman, 2001).
 Another engineered potato variety appeared in March 2010; a GM potato
“Amflora,” developed by BASF Plant Science and aimed at improved
amylopectin content (waxy tuberous starch) for the processing industry, was
approved by the European Commission (Lucht, 2015; Zaheer and Akhtar, 2016).
New leaf Amflora

41. Varieties Released
 CPRI has released 49 potato varieties till date
 Two varieties viz. Kufri Safed and Kufri Red are clonal selections from
indigenous desi varieties Phulwa and Darjeeling Red Round, respectively.
 The remaining 47 varieties are hybrids.
 9 varieties are early (70-80 days),
 24 are medium (90-100 days)
 16 are late (100-110 days) maturing.
 44 varieties possess white or yellow skin
 5 varieties ie K. Red, K. Sindhuri, K. Lalima, K. Kanchan and K. Arun possess
red skin.
 Most of these varieties possess resistance/tolerance to major pests and diseases.
 The varieties viz. K. Chipsona-1, K. Chipsona-2, K. Chipsona-3, K. Himsona,
Kufri Frysona and Kufri Chipsona 4 have been developed for processing.
 32 of the 49 varieties released so for are suitable for cultivation in North Indian
Plains.

42. Varieties released

43. Newly Released varieties
Kufri Ganga For N. India – Medium maturity and moderate resistance to late blight
Kufri Neelkanth N. India- Purple tubers with yellow tubers rich in anti oxidants
Kufri Lima N. India – Early , Tol. to heat ,mite and hopper burn
Kufri Arun N. India – Red with yellow flesh
Kufri Garima IG Plains and plateau – Field rest. to late blight
Kufri Mohan IG Plains – Medium maturity, field rest. To late blight

44. Plains
Hills Processing
Early Medium Late
Kufri
Chandramukhi
Kufri Bahar Kufri Badshah Kufri Jyoti Kufri Chipsona-1
Kufri Bahar Kufri Sutlej Kufri Anand Kufri Swarna Kufri Chipsona-2
Kufri Pukhraj Kufri Pukhraj Kufri Sindhuri Kufri Kanchan Kufri Chipsona-3
Kufri Ashoka Kufri Anand Kufri Giriraj Kufri Himsona
Kufri Surya Kufri Lalima Kufri Shelja Kufri Frysona
Kufri Khyati Kufri Arun Kufri Himalini Kufri Chipsona-4
Kufri Pushkar Kufri Girdhari
Kufri
Sadabahar
Kufri Gaurav
Kufri Garima
POTATO VARIETIES

45. Kufri Badshah (A), Kufri Bahar (B), Kufri Lalima (C),
Kufri Anand (D), Kufri Pushkar (E) and Kufri Garima (F)
Improved potato varieties for plains

46. Processing varieties
Kufri Frysona

47. Late blight resistant varieties
Kufri Jyoti (A), Kufri Giriraj (B), Kufri Shailja (C) and Kufri Girdhari (D)

48. Symptom of wart (A)
and wart resistant variety
Kufri Kanchan (B)
Potato roots showing
nematode cyst (A)
& tubers o fPotato
variety Kufri Swarna (B)
Heat tolerant variety
Kufri Surya

49. Challenges addressed during potato breeding in India
• Indigenous table potato varieties
• Late blight resistant varieties
• Cyst nematode varieties-Kufri Swarna and Kufri Dewa
• Wart resistant varieties-Kufri Kanchan
• Processing varieties for chips and French fries.
• Heat tolerant variety-Kufri Surya and Kufri lima
• Frost resitant varieties- Kufri dewa and Kufri sheetman

50. Future prospects
The potato embodies a unique combination of features; it is tetraploid and
heterozygous, it can be asexually propagated, is amenable to tissue and cell culture
methods, possesses an extremely large gene pool, and can be transformed by
Agrobacterium tumefaciens or other methods.
Hence holds great promise for the future.
To extend potato cultivation in non-traditional areas there is need to develop heat
tolerant genotypes.
Varieties rich in protein & vitamin A need to be developed.
Varieties for improved processing attributes.
Varieties resistant to late blight- early blight charcoal rot & mosaic

51. Reference
Books
 Vegetable breeding – Principles and practices – Hari Har Ram
 Genetic Improvement of vegetable crops – G.Kalloo, B O Bergh
 Vegetable , Tuber crops and spices – S. Thamburaj
 Vegetable science and technoogy in India – Vishnu Swarup
 Glaustas olericulture – R. Selvakumar
Website
 http://cpri.icar.gov.in