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Title: POTATO IMPROVEMENT BY TRADITIONAL BREEDING AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR NEW TECHNOLOGIES

Author
item PLAISTED, ROBERT - CORNELL UNIVERSITY
item BONIERBALE, MERIDETH - CORNELL UNIVERSITY
item YENCHO, G - CORNELL UNIVERSITY
item PINEDA, OMAIRA - CORNELL UNIVERSITY
item TINGEY, WARD - CORNELL UNIVERSITY
item VAN DEN BERG, JAN - CORNELL UNIVERSITY
item EWING, ELMER - CORNELL UNIVERSITY
item BRODIE, BILL

Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/30/1996
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Not required.

Technical Abstract: Potato breeding programs worldwide are undergoing a period of rapid change. Like most endeavors, in order to be successful, breeders must adapt and incorporate appropriate techniques as they become available. To date, potato cultivars have been developed using traditional means. However, the use of the term 'traditional' should not be interpreted as being static. As snew tools or techniques become available, breeders have adopted those whic give them an advantage. The advances in biotechnology, analytical procedures, instrumentation and computation that have occurred during the last decade promise to speed greatly the development of new cultivars. However, certain aspects of the breeding process will remain relatively constant, such as the time consuming and often expensive field evaluation and replicated yield trial procedures which are the foundation of a potato breeding program. In this chapter, we provide a general introduction to a traditional potato breeding program. Because it is difficult to judge progress if an appreciation for the past is lacking, we first provide an overview and brief history of potato breeding in North America. We then outline a typical potato breeding program and review the shifts in varieties that have occurred in recent years. Finally, new opportunities for advances in potato breeding are discussed, using examples from our own program.