Solanum jamesii as a food crop: history and current status of a unique potato

Authors: KINDER, DAVID - OHIO NORTHERN UNIVERSITY; Bamberg, John; LOUDERBACK, LISBETH - UNIVERSITY OF UTAH; PAVLIK, BRUCE - UNIVERSITY OF UTAH; DEL RIO, ALFONSO - UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN

Submitted to: IntechOpen
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/17/2021
Publication Date: 6/2/2021
Citation: Kinder, D., Bamberg, J.B., Louderback, L., Pavlik, B., Del Rio, A.H. 2021. Solanum jamesii as a food crop: history and current status of a unique potato. In: Yildiz, M. and Ozgen, Y., editors. Solanum tuberosum - a Promising Crop for Starvation Problem. London: IntechOpen. p. 1-10. Available: https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.98414.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.98414

Interpretive Summary: The wild potato, Solanum jamesii has been known to exist in the American SW for some decades, and was not considered significant in the early days of plant study of indigenous people’s use of this potato. More recently with interest in maintaining genebanks of native plants, and to use them for breeding purposes either by selection of plants with certain characteristic or deliberate crossing of one species with another there has been a more robust look at where these potatoes are found, and how they can be managed to the betterment of the potatoes. This work has been spearheaded by Bamberg and colleagues at the US Potato Genebank (Sturgeon Bay, WI) as well as others including Pavlik and Louderback at the U. of Utah. The storage potential added to various crosses with other wild or domestic potatoes holds promise for the future where potatoes can be grown in more arid climates, or can be stored for extended periods of time and maintain viable tubers for planting. In terms of third world populations where drought causes extensive starvation this small potato could be developed with potatoes with other favorable characteristics to provide a food source for those populations. It remains to be seen what this potential will mean to further production of cultivars.

Technical Abstract: Solanum jamesii is a wild potato found in the US southwest. There is ample evidence that this potato was used by ancestral Puebloans as a food source, where some researchers think it was used as a starvation food while others consider it to be regular food source. Currently this potato is being grown by Native Americans, notably the Navajo, as a specialty food as well as a food crop. There are several attributes to this potato that make it especially suitable for development as our climate changes and food needs become more demanding, including its drought tolerance and ability to be crossed with other wild potato species and cultivars.