Project Number: 5366-21000-023-00
Project Type: Appropriated

Start Date: Jul 01, 2003
End Date: Jun 30, 2008

Objective:
Potato is the number one vegetable crop in the United States, but commercial varieties are highly susceptible to a number of diseases, pests, and environmental stresses. Our project addresses the needs of the fresh market, frozen French fry, chipping, and dehydration industries with the objectives of 1) improving tuber qualities to increase long term storability and processing recovery 2) incorporating combined genetic resistance to major field and storage diseases and pests, such as late blight, verticillium wilt, viruses, (particularly the newer strains of PVY), aphids, wireworm, Colorado potato beetle, and Columbia root-knot nematode, 3)improving production efficiency and reducing sensitivity to environmental stress thereby reducing water, fertilizer and pesticide needs, 4) improving the nutritional quality of the potato for the consumer, 5) Using HPLC-MS analyses, wireworm resistant material will be evaluated to determine specific compounds that may confer resistance. Identified compound(s) can then be screened in early-generation evaluations of germplasm for presence (resistance) and absence(susceptibility), thereby accelerating the development of wireworm resistant potato cultivars, and 6) Characterization of environmental conditions conducive for the expression of potato tuber necrotic ringspot disease caused by Potato Virus Y (PVY) necrotic strains. In addition a standard protocol will be developed to screen advanced breeding selections for development of necrotic tuber symptoms. Resistance to the viral infection and/or development of necrotic symptoms in tubers will be identified. Resistant germplasm will then be used in the further development of potato varieties. The development and use of marker-assisted selection will aid in the achievement of these research objectives. Continued collaboration and cooperative evaluation with researchers in the Northwest Potato Variety Development Program and other national and international potato breeding programs will be key elements in the successful achievement of project objectives.

Approach:
Identify and utilize parental germplasm with desired traits. Hybridize parental material in the greenhouse and produce seedling-tuber progeny for field evaluation. Select for the desired traits summarized in the project objectives through replicated field and disease screening trials. Develop and utilize marker-assisted selection where feasible. Implement molecular techniques to allow differentiation among PVY strains and assess the reaction of potato germplasm and cultivars to the PVY strains. Establish seed increases needed in the cooperative testing program. Distribute seed of improved germplasm and potential varieties to ARS, university, and industry cooperators. Jointly release new varieties and germplasm with state and federal cooperators. BSL-1; March 26,2003. Replaces: 5366-21000-011-00D. FY99 Prgm Inc. $135,000 for potato breeding research. FY02 Program Increase $108,000. FY03 Program Increase $26,824. Replaces 5366-21000-017-00D. FY04 Program Increase $201,306.