International Potato Center

About: International Potato Center is a facility organization based out in Lima, Peru. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Phytophthora infestans. The organization has 1036 authors who have published 1460 publications receiving 47183 citations.

Nuclear and chloroplast DNA reassessment of the origin of Indian potato varieties and its implications for the origin of the early European potato

Abstract: The modern cultivated potato was first recorded in Europe in 1562, but its area(s) of exportation has long been in dispute. Two competing hypotheses have proposed an "Andean" area (somewhere from upland Venezuela to northern Argentina) or a lowland south central "Chilean" area. Potato landraces from these two areas can be distinguished, although sometimes with difficulty, by (1) cytoplasmic sterility factors, (2) morphological traits, (3) daylength adaptation, (4) microsatellite markers, and (5) co-evolved chloroplast (cp) and mitochondria (mt) DNA. The Chilean introduction hypothesis originally was proposed because of similarities among Chilean landraces and modern "European" cultivars with respect to traits 2 and 3. Alternatively, the Andean introduction hypothesis suggests that (1) traits 2 and 3 of European potato evolved rapidly, in parallel, from Andean landraces to a Chilean type through selection following import to Europe, and (2) the worldwide late blight epidemics beginning in 1845 in the United Kingdom displaced most existing European cultivars and the potato was subsequently improved by importations of Chilean landraces. We reassess these two competing hypotheses with nuclear microsatellite and cpDNA analyses of (1) 32 Indian cultivars, some of which are thought to preserve putatively remnant populations of Andean landraces, (2) 12 Andean landraces, and (3) five Chilean landraces. Our microsatellite results cluster all Indian cultivars, including putatively remnant Andean landrace populations, with the Chilean landraces, and none with the "old Andigenum" landraces. Some of these Indian landraces, however, lack the cpDNA typical of Chilean landraces and advanced cultivars, indicating they likely are hybrids of Andean landraces with Chilean clones or more advanced cultivars. These results lead us to reexamine the hypothesis that early introductions of potato to Europe were solely from the Andes.

Potato production and utilization in world perspective with special reference to the tropics and sub-tropics

Abstract: Potato production is increasing rapidly in the tropics and sub-tropics and is declining gradually in the temperate zone. It is not expected that in the near future potato production for ethanol production will become important or that the production for starch or stock feed will increase. Consumption per capita is more or less stable in Western Europe and North America but is increasing in Africa and Asia. On average, energy and protein from potatoes cost the developing-country consumer at least three times as much as from wheat or rice. Better application by farmers of existing and newly developed technologies — including better adapted cultivars, healthy seed tubers, botanical seed and low-cost storage and processing — can reduce costs per unit of output substantially, mainly by increasing yield. Doubling the yield without considerable increases in production costs per hectare would allow the potato to become a cheap vegetable in many tropical or sub-tropical areas and to become a staple food in others with favourable growing conditions.

Seed treatment technology: An attractive delivery system for controlling root parasitic weed Striga with mycoherbicide

Abstract: Coating sorghum seeds with Fusarium oxysporum (Foxy 2) for control of the root parasitic weed Striga, appears to be an attractive option for minimizing the inoculum amount, establishing the biocontrol agent in the potential infection zone of the host plants, and offering a simple, easy and economical delivery system Our investigations resulted in the selection of appropriate seed coating materials and a suitable type and form of fungal inoculum The coating materials tested were arabic gum (AG10%, 20%, 40%), carboxymethylcellulose (CMC1%, 2%) and pectin (LS 440, LM-5 CS) 1%, while the fungal inoculum included microconidia and fresh and dried chlamydospores produced using different substrates Foxy 2 survived the seed treatment processing and showed excellent viability on seeds for at least 8 months of storage after coating In general, the performance of 40% arabic gum in combination with dried chlamydospores was the best among the other types of inoculum and coating material tested Regardless