Dynamic guardianship of potato landraces by Andean communities and the genebank of the International Potato Center

Background Potato landraces (Solanum spp.) are not only crucial for food security and sustenance in Andean communities but are also deeply rooted in the local culture. The crop originated in the Andes, and while a great diversity of potato persists, some landraces have been lost. Local communities and the genebank of the International Potato Center (CIP) partnered to re-establish some of these landraces in situ by supplying clean seed potatoes to farmers. Over time, the genebank formalized a repatriation program of potato landraces. Repatriation is the process of returning native germplasm back to its place of origin, allowing a dynamic exchange between ex situ and in situ conditions. So far, no comprehensive description of CIP’s repatriation program, the changes it induced, nor its benefits, has been carried out. Methods We addressed this research gap by analyzing CIP genebank distribution data for repatriated accessions, conducting structured interviews with experts of the repatriation program, and applying duration and benefit analyses to a survey dataset of 301 households. Results Between 1997 and 2020, 14,950 samples, representing 1519 accessions, were distributed to 135 communities in Peru. While most households (56%) abandoned the repatriated material by the fourth year after receiving it, the in situ survival probability of the remaining material stabilized between 36% in year 5 and 18% in year 15. Households where the plot manager was over 60 years old were more likely to grow the repatriated landraces for longer periods of times. While male plot management decreased survival times compared to female plot management, higher levels of education, labor force, wealth, food insecurity, and geographic location in the southern part of Peru were associated with greater survival times. Most farmers reported nutritional and cultural benefits as reasons for maintaining landrace material. Repatriated potatoes enabled farmers to conserve potato diversity, and hence, re-establish and broaden culinary diversity and traditions. Conclusions Our study is the first to apply an economic model to analyze the duration of in situ landrace cultivation by custodian farmers. We provide an evidence base that describes the vast scope of the program and its benefits.

PL-4 (CIP596131.4): an Improved Potato Haploid Inducer

Dihaploid production from elite tetraploid cultivars is key to both traditional and novel breeding approaches that seek to simplify potato genetics. For this purpose, efficient and widely compatible haploid inducers (HIs) are needed. We compared PL-4, a new HI developed at the International Potato Center, to known HIs IvP101 and IvP35. By pollination of elite tetraploid breeding lines, we showed that PL-4 performed significantly better and had a homogeneous response regardless of the genetic background of the pistillate parents, on the most important efficiency traits—number of dihaploids per 100 fruits and haploid induction rate. Moreover, PL-4 exhibited a reduced proportion of hybrid seeds, a convenient trait for efficient screening. In this context, we recommend PL-4 as an enhanced HI for the potato breeding community.

Correction to: Andean potato diversity conserved in the International Potato Center genebank helps develop agriculture in Uganda: the example of the variety ‘Victoria’

A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12571-020-01136-6

Human and Technical Dimensions of Potato Integrated Pest Management Using Farmer Field Schools: International Potato Center and Partners’ Experience With Potato Late Blight Management

In the 1990s, the integrated pest management (IPM) team for potato late blight (IPM-late blight) at the International Potato Center (CIP) began to address the management of this complex potato disease by combining crop protection with social and behavioral sciences. Since the early 2000s, the team has worked with research and development organizations in countries in Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and South America to develop farmer discovery-based learning methods using farmer field schools (FFS). The principles of late blight control were more visible and understood by farmers when they could test options for managing late blight, particularly new potato clones with resistance to the disease, for themselves. CIP and partners have since adapted an approach combining FFS and participatory research to facilitate farmers’ access to information, knowledge, and technologies. Several manuals to implement FFS-IPM-late blight with farmers were subsequently developed. Results indicated that farmers using this approach learned new knowledge, assessed new potato clones, and changed crop management practices. Hence farmers realized a 32% average increase in potato productivity and income in Peru; similar changes occurred in other countries. The participatory research and training approach had a significant impact beyond IPM-late blight. In Peru and Bolivia, for example, more than 2,000 FFS were implemented between 2005 and 2012 on IPM for potato, other crops (coffee, cocoa, fruit trees), and livestock. In Uganda and Ethiopia, the experience expanded to potato seed management with the formation of seed cooperatives. Lessons have been drawn from this experience.

Pertumbuhan dan Hasil Beberapa Klon Kentang Unggul Asal International Potato Center di Dataran Tinggi Malino, Sulawesi Selatan

ABSTRAK. Penelitian untuk mengevaluasi klon kentang unggul baru asal the International Potato Center (CIP) dalam rangka mendapatkan klon kentang dengan hasil umbi yang tinggi baik untuk kentang konsumsi (table potato) maupun untuk kentang olahan (processing potato) yang dapat diterima petani secara berkelanjutan telah dilaksanakan di dataran tinggi Malino, yaitu di Desa Bulubalea (1.500 m dpl.), Kelurahan Pattapang, Kecamatan Tinggimoncong, Kabupaten Gowa, Sulawesi Selatan sejak bulan Mei sampai dengan bulan Agustus 2012. Dua puluh klon kentang unggul asal CIP sebagai perlakuan dan dua varietas kentang yaitu Granola dan Atlantic sebagai kontrol dievaluasi dengan menggunakan rancangan acak kelompok dan setiap perlakuan diulang tiga kali. Pada penelitian ini, petani kentang dilibatkan untuk mengevaluasi klon kentang baik pada saat pertumbuhan maupun pada saat panen. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa tiga klon kentang yaitu klon kentang 393708.31, 388615.22, dan 397079.6 menunjukkan hasil umbi per ha tertinggi yang berbeda nyata dengan beberapa klon kentang lainnya dan cv. Granola yang merupakan varietas kentang yang umum ditanam petani kentang di Indonesia. Dalam hal hasil umbi per tanaman, klon kentang 393708.31 memberikan hasil umbi per tanaman yang tertinggi yaitu sebesar 866 g per tanaman, tetapi tidak berbeda nyata dengan klon kentang 388615.22, 397006.18, dan 397079.6, namun berbeda nyata dengan klon kentang lainnya yang ditanam pada penelitian ini. Delapan klon kentang yaitu 388615.22, 393708.31, 397006.18, 397065.28, 397069.5, 397079.6, 399101.1, dan 392822.3, dipilih petani, baik pada saat periode pertumbuhan tanaman dan pada saat panen. Hasil penelitian dapat digunakan sebagai bahan pemilihan klon yang mempunyai keunggulan untuk mendapatkan varietas kentang yang mempunyai hasil umbi tinggi yang sesuai dengan kebutuhan dan kondisi petani, sehingga dapat diterima petani secara berkelanjutan.