American Journal of Potato Research最新文献

Developing potato varieties through hybridization is an effective breeding method to improve productivity and quality of potato. The aim of this study was to develop a late blight tolerant, high-yielding, and stable potato variety. In 2015/2016, the Adet Agricultural Research Center began a potato crossing and produced 3600 genotypes. The best performing eleven genotypes were selected and tested against check varieties in national trials for 2020 and 2021. The lowest tuber yield (17.95 t ha⁻¹) was obtained with a local check while the highest yield (42.25 t ha-1) was observed with genotype AD501645.9 (produced from crossing of Belete x CIP396034.263). The AD501645.9 demonstrated 15 and 135.37% yield advantages over standard and local checks, respectively. AMMI analyses revealed significant (P < 0.01) on genotype, environment and genotype by environment interaction with respect to tuber yield. This is indicating that genotypes responded differently to the traits in each environment. Different stability measuring methods identified as genotype AD501645.9 was widely adaptable, stable and high yielder. In 2023 AD501645.9 was released as the new table variety ‘Worku’, the first variety ever developed from crossing and selection in Ethiopia.

Vanguard Russet, a fresh market potato developed by the Texas A&M Breeding Program, has been reported to be heat tolerant based on previous greenhouse and field studies. Until now, no studies have been conducted to understand the mechanisms involved in its heat tolerance. We compared Vanguard Russet and the heat-sensitive potato variety Russet Burbank using contrasting conditions in growth chambers (normal, 25/15⁰C day/night vs. high-temperature, 25/15⁰C day/night for four weeks, followed by 35/25⁰C day/night). Differences in tuber initiation time, bulking, tuber number, plant height, leaf area, stem thickness, leaf angle, plant biomass, and photosynthetic parameters were sequentially documented at five-time points: 30, 45, 60, 75, and 100 days after planting. Although having slower above-ground plant growth under both conditions, Vanguard Russet initiated tuber formation significantly earlier (< 30 days) than Russet Burbank (30–45 days). This indicates its ability to quickly channel photoassimilates toward tubers, employing early tuberization as a possible heat escape strategy. Screening for early tuberization could be considered as an initial approach to identify varieties able to escape heat stress. In addition to early tuberization, heat-tolerant varieties must produce a high yield of marketable tubers with few internal and external defects.

Solanum microdontum (mcd) is a tuber-bearing relative of commercial potato. Although wild, it has many attractive traits for breeding. Previous research has shown it has exceptional ability to sequester calcium in its tubers, a trait associated with tuber disease resistance and tuber quality. We used a set of mcd from 50 populations in the US Potato Genebank (USPG) shown to encompass most of the genetic diversity in the species, two individuals from each population. Tubers were produced in pots in the USPG greenhouse in two years, and freeze dried samples tested for calcium content. Some exceptionally high Ca accumulators were identified (especially clone mcd40B1 from PI 473166). Because other minerals were measured in the same tests, the highest accumulators for K, Mg, Zn in mcd were also identified. All the stocks tested are available in vitro from USPG for additional research and breeding.

In potato breeding, maturity class (MC) is a crucial selection criterion because this is a critical aspect of commercial potato production. Currently, the classification of potato genotypes into MCs is done visually, which is time- and labor-consuming. The objective of this research was to use vegetation indices (VIs) derived from unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) imagery to remotely assign MCs to potato plants grown in trials, representing three different early stages within a multi-year breeding program. The relationships between VIs (GOSAVI – Green Optimized Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index, MCARI2 – Modified Chlorophyll Absorption Index-Improved, NDRE – Normalized Difference Red Edge, NDVI – Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, and OSAVI – Optimized Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index and WDVI – Weighted Difference Vegetation Index) and visual potato canopy status were determined. Further, this study aimed to identify factors that could improve the accuracy (decrease Mean Absolute Error – MAE) of potato MC estimation remotely. Results show that VIs derived from UAV imagery can be effectively used to remotely assign MCs to potato breeding lines, with higher accuracy for the potato B-clones (20 plants per plot) than the A-clones (6 plants per plot). Among the tested VIs, the NDRE allowed for potato MC evaluation with the lowest MAE. Applying NDRE for remote MC estimation using a validation dataset of potato B-clones (100 plants per plot), resulted in an MC estimate with a 0.81 MAE. However, the accuracy of potato MC estimation using UAV image-based methods should be improved by reducing the potato canopy’s variability (increasing uniformity) within the plot. This could be achieved by minimizing 1) potato vines bending over the neighboring row, causing vine overlap between plots, and 2) plants damaged by tractor wheels during field operations.

Accurate real-time estimation of nutrient concentrations in potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) canopies is crucial for advanced decision support systems in site-specific nutrient management. This study investigated the effectiveness of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) based hyperspectral imaging in predicting nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), and sulfur (S) concentrations in potato plants comparing two sampling types such as petiole/leaves and above-ground biomass (AGB) sampling. Furthermore, this study also investigates the prediction of AGB, total, and marketable yield of two potato cultivars, 'Atlantic' (chipping) and 'Red La Soda' (tablestock). Four UAV flights over experimental sites were made, and hyperspectral imaging sensors (393–995 nm, 273 bands) were conducted, which coincided with the in-field sample collection as ground truth. Data were analyzed using the partial least square regression model after preprocessing and extracting spectra from images. The model showed high accuracy in estimating plant N concentration from petiole/leaf samples (external validation R² = 0.58; [external validation RMSE = 0.31 × 10⁴ mg kg⁻¹]), as well as for P (0.75 [0.05 × 10⁴ mg kg⁻¹]) and S (0.58 [0.03 × 10⁴ mg kg⁻¹]). Potassium estimation accuracy improved with biomass sampling (0.47 [1.19 × 10⁴ mg kg⁻¹]). Above-ground biomass estimation had higher accuracy for 'Atlantic' (0.75 [1.29 Mg ha⁻¹]) than for 'Red La Soda' (0.57 [1.38 Mg ha⁻¹]). The model accurately estimated total and marketable tuber yields for both cultivars, with variations noted based on flight timing related to the crop stage. Cultivar ‘Red La Soda’ achieved the highest total yield accuracy on the first (0.76 [3.31 Mg ha⁻¹]) and fourth flights (0.76 [3.31]), while the ‘Atlantic’ had the highest accuracy on the third flight (0.50 [4.11]). Model outputs, including standardized coefficients and variable importance in prediction, visualizing band contributions to measured parameter predictions are presented. This study concludes that hyperspectral imaging successfully estimates the potato nutrient concentration and predicts the in-season potato yield, which can contribute significantly to the potato management decision support system. However, it underscores the importance of multiyear high temporal data acquisition with variable potato varieties to establish a reliable AGB and yield estimation model to improve performance.

Zebra chip is an increasingly serious disease in commercial potato production globally. Resistance can be pursued by control of the insect vector, the tomato-potato psyllid, Bactericera cockerelli or the bacterial causal agent, Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum (Lso). Some Lso-infected plants of the wild potato species S. microdontum (mcd) had been observed to have low symptom expression. Thus, we evaluated a representative core collection of 86 individuals from 50 mcd populations in the US Potato Genebank (USPG). Real-time quantitative PCR on tissue from infected leaves was used as a proxy for bacterial titer of Lso. Russet Burbank control had 56% of the MLT of the most susceptible mcd individual. The average for all mcd was 67%, and the lowest, most resistant six mcd individuals were 0%. Repeated testing of those six individuals identified two as most reliably resistant: mcd15B2 from PI 265575 and mcd62B1 from PI 498126. All of these mcd individuals are available from USPG. They should be useful for research and breeding aimed at better understanding and controlling Zebra chip disease.

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) dry rot due to fungal infections causes the loss of a significant amount of potatoes. In this study, the antifungal effects of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) extracts against Fusarium sulphureum were investigated. The results of in vitro antifungal tests showed that all four sunflower extracts significantly inhibited the growth of F. sulphureum. Notably, the optimal inhibitory concentrations of ethyl acetate extract from sunflower disk (EESD), ethyl acetate extract from sunflower stalk (EESS), petroleum ether extract from sunflower disk (PESD) and petroleum ether extract from sunflower stalk (PESS) against F. sulphureum were 160 mg/mL, 160 mg/mL, 240 mg/mL, and 240 mg/mL, respectively. In addition, these extracts significantly inhibited the activities of polygalacturonase (PG), polymethyl-galacturonase (PMG), carboxymethyl cellulase (Cx), and β-glucosidase (β-Glu) secreted by F. sulphureum in three potato varieties: Longshu No.7, Longshu No.10 and Xindaping. These results provide a theoretical foundation for the biological control of potato dry rot.

Colorado potato beetle (CPB), Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say) is a major insect pest of potato and development of resistant varieties is part of a strategy for management. Wild relatives of potato are resources for genetic improvement through breeding. Interspecies crosses to introgress CPB resistance will be facilitated with rapid and inexpensive selection methods. Solanum okadae is a novel source of feeding deterrence against the beetle and was associated with production of a naturally occurring leaf-specific lactone-containing metabolite in the foliage. The Baljet assay has been used for decades in pharmaceuticals for rapid screening of lactone-containing compounds. A modified Baljet assay was developed for potato foliar tissue to rapidly screen for lactone-containing compounds in plants from the field, greenhouse, and laboratory. Herein we report the screening of potato foliage for CPB resistance with a Baljet assay validated by CPB larval feeding studies. Foliage from wild accessions of S. okadae were tested using the Baljet assay and results showed that production of the leaf-specific lactones has a large range of variation in the species. In addition, tubers tested using the Baljet assay had negligible levels of lactone-containing metabolites, confirming leaf-specific production of lactones. This inexpensive method using leaf disk screening will allow potato breeders to quickly select for potential CPB resistant germplasms and advance the breeding of sustainable crops.

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) production often requires intensive tillage with the moldboard plow (MP), which involves deeper soil tillage and turning of the soil to provide enough loose soil for proper tuberization. Although tillage with the MP allows better potato seedbed preparation and lower weed pressure, it is also associated with increased soil compaction, soil aggregate destruction, and increased soil organic matter (SOM) mineralization. The objective of this four-year (2019–2022) study conducted in 14 commercial fields was to compare the use of MP with primary non-inversion shallow tillage (ST) in terms of their effect on selected soil health indicators, soil moisture, potato petiole nitrate concentration, potato yield, and specific gravity. Commercial fields ranged from 1.5 ha to 19 ha where the main field was split in half, with one side tilled using MP (22.5–30 cm plowing depth) and the other half using ST (15–30 cm plowing depth). Soil and plant tissue samples were taken within four sub-replicates (91 m²) created per each treatment per each site and three to four sites were used as replicates per each year. Compared to MP, ST increased active carbon by an average of 9%, soil respiration by an average of 26%, and aggregate stability by an average of 8%. Biological N availability (BNA) increased by an average of 20% with ST, and the effect was statistically significant in three out of four years. Soil moisture at 20 cm depth tended to be higher with MP than ST in three out of four years. Although not statistically significant, when averaged across four years, potato petiole nitrate concentrations were 5% and 12% higher with ST than MP in samples collected at the flowering and post-potato flowering stages, respectively. Total and marketable potato yields, along with specific gravity, were comparable for the two tillage regimes. Signs of soil improvement were observed at the early stages of ST adoption. Marketable yield was negatively correlated with the soil nitrate levels measured during the growing season but was positively correlated with active carbon, aggregate stability, and soil moisture. Future studies could compare both tillage regimes over multiple growing seasons to assess their impacts over a full cycle of rotation. The novelty of the present study was that it was conducted in real-life conditions across large growers’ fields with different conditions and across four years.

The application of phyto-nanotechnology in horticulture is a sustainable tool for agriculture due to its cost-effectiveness and eco-friendly properties. Essential micro-elements have been used as nano-fertilizer to enhance crop production. Fine-tuning of the nanoparticle dose is also recognized as the critical factor determining their impact on plant growth. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effects of iron (Fe) and manganese (Mn) oxide nanoparticles (NPs) on potato plants physiological and biochemical changes under the hydroponic conditions. Observations revealed that the plant growing in the adapted hydroponics media (supplemented with 4.0 mg L^− 1 Fe₃O₄ NPs and 1.0 mg L^− 1 MnO₂ NPs instead of original Fe and Mn salt respectively) improved various physiological and biochemical parameters, total biomass, and tuber yield compared to the untreated control. The growth-promoting impact of metal oxide NPs (hereafter refers as MONPs) simultaneously induced the activity of various antioxidant enzymes (SOD, CAT, POD) and contributed to the adequate reduction in malondialdehyde (MDA) and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) content relative to the untreated control plants. This indicated that the application of MONPs could improve the potato yield per plant via modulating the plant antioxidant machinery. In addition, the application of MONPs as nano-nutrient appreciably improved the photosynthetic efficiency of plants via modulating the photosynthetic pigment content like Chl a, Chl b, total Chl, ratio Chl a/b, carotenoids as well as soluble sugar. The SEM-EDX elemental mapping also showed a slightly higher content of metals ions (Fe, Mn, and Ca) in the root and shoot tissues, however, the TEM analysis also confirmed absorption as well as transportation of MONPs in the root tissues growing in the presence of MONPs. This study opened the opportunity of utilizing MONPs as nano-nutrient in a hydroponic condition for development of pathogen-free potato tuber.