Location: Small Grains and Potato Germplasm Research
Project Number: 2050-21000-036-017-I
Project Type: Interagency Reimbursable Agreement
Start Date: Mar 26, 2024
End Date: Sep 30, 2024
Objective:
1) Conduct new hybridizations using resistant varieties obtained from breeding programs in Europe, New Zealand, and South America where PCN has been established for many years; 2) select in the field progenies having the best agronomic types for processing and fresh industry from previously generated families; 3) individuals selected in the field will be sent to collaborating nematologists for resistance screening (phenotyping) and to a collaborating molecular biologist for assessing the presence of molecular markers associated with PCN-resistance.
Approach:
Hybridizations are planned and done at the ARS Aberdeen greenhouse facilities. Selections of PCN-resistant parents are based on their resistance factor calculated against relative susceptibility of a standard susceptible (cv. Desiree). Resistant individuals are crossed with varieties/breeding clones industry accepted processing and fresh attributes. True potato seed is then extracted from harvested potato fruit for planting in the greenhouse. Seedlings will be grown in individual pots with the mature plant producing one to three seedling tubers. The largest seedling tuber is kept, and field planted at Aberdeen the following season as a “single hill” clone. At harvest, tubers under each single hill are dug and selected based tuber type and shape. These are then evaluated the following year in 12-hill (plant) plots. In this second year, the 12 hill selections having desirable agronomics are sent for PCN resistance phenotyping at collaborating labs in Idaho, Oregon, and New York (for G. pallida, G. ellingtonae, and G. rostochiensis, respectively). Each of these three objective components are occurring each year, so that the objectives are met by executing these methods.
