Traceability and certification of seed potato by blockchain technology

The use of blockchain technology for the seed supply chain will bring a real change to seed management. It provides the ability to track the purity of the seed. The unique digital identity created for every batch of seeds provides a complete history of the seed supply chain providing transparency and visibility to the buyer. Potato is designated as “ Future Food” for food and nutritional security to the developing world by FAO in 2008 In Indian Agri-scenario potato’s is the fourth most important food crop after Rice, wheat, and maize. Potato, a vegetatively propagated crop, and its yield is affected by several factors. Among them, quality seed is one of the most important factors. Input cost for seed purchase goes upto 40 to 50 percent of the total input cost of the crop. The average yield increase from 30 to 50 percent by the use of good quality seed as compared to farmers’ seeds was reported by FAO in a document on potato in the Asia Pacific (https://www.fao.org/3/i0200e/I0200E05.htm). Punjab has earned the status of “Seed Bowl of Potato” which meets 90% of the total disease-free potato requirement of the country (Status report Department of Horticulture, Punjab). It stands 6th in total potato production of 2.87 million tonnes, recording productivity (28.70 t/ha) from an area of 1.06 lakh ha in 2019-20 (Horticulture Statistics Division, Department of Agri. & Cooperation). The government of Punjab (Department of Agri &farmers welfare) in the Year 2019 initiated the certification and traceability of seed potato to ensure optimum transparency. This task was entrusted to Punjab Agri Export Corporation (PAGREXCO) along with a Bangalore based company- Cropin Technology Solutions as the technology partner. Blockchain technology will be used to undertake certification and traceability of seed potato right from nucleus to seed level (harvest). In the crop season, 2019-20 a group of 23 farmers/seed producing agencies come under the umbrella with 1809.80 acres of seed potato of different varieties registered for certification. In the years 2020-21, the area under different stages of certification stands at 1499.63 acres.

Effect of selection methods on seed potato quality in the following season

Most potato farmers in Indonesia select the small tubers at harvest for planting in the following season, the so-called farmers’ practice (FP). This propagation method is cheap, but the small tubers may come from less healthy plants, which increases the build-up of diseases with accelerated yield decreases over the seasons. Alternatively, farmers may identify healthy plants within the growing season and select those for propagation, the so-called positive plant selection method (PPSM). An experiment was carried out to evaluate the effects of PPSM compared to FP on yields in the following season in the two main potato growing areas of West Java, i.e., Pangalengan and Garut. Generations G2 and G3 of cv. Granola and one generation of the imported cv. Atlantic were used. Selected seeds using PPSM and FP were planted in the second season in a randomized complete block design. Results show that yields of seeds selected through PPSM were significantly higher compared to seeds selected through FP, over both locations, on average, 7.4, 5.5 and 1.2 ton ha−1 for Granola G2 and G3, and the Atlantic, respectively. These yield increases represent an increase in the gross revenue of 30.8 to 51.8 million IDR ha−1 for Granola and 1.9 to 7.8 million IDR ha−1 for Atlantic at a farm gate price of 7,000 and 6,500 IDR kg−1, respectively. This study confirms that PPSM is superior to FP and improves the quality of the farms saved seeds.

LED Light Pre-Treatment Improves Pre-Basic Seed Potato (Solanum tuberosum L. cv. Golden King) Production in the Aeroponic System

Production of plants under artificial light conditions is an innovative and smart concept to grow food year-round in any location. However, pre-basic seed potato production in the greenhouse from LED pre-treated seedlings under an aeroponic system is a new and creative idea. Therefore, the objective of the study was to optimize the effect of LED pre-treatment and determine the best LED spectral composition on growth performance and tuberization of potato plants. Potato variety ‘Golden King’ was treated under 9 LED light spectra for 30 days—L1 (natural light), L2, (R:B), L3 (R:B:G), L4 (R:B:FR), L5 (R:B:G:FR), L6 (R:B:G:FR:UV), L7 (R:B:FR:UV), L8 (R:B:W:FR), and L9 (R:B:W:FR:UV) under 300 µmol m−2 s−1 photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD), 23/15 °C (day/night) temperature, and 70% relative humidity. The study revealed that growth characteristics and tuber number for plants were increased most by the light spectrum L4 (R:B:FR). Furthermore, photosynthetic pigments increased in L4, L7, and L8, while TSC and sucrose accumulated more in L1 treatment. In contrast, higher seed tuber fresh weight was recorded in L8, L9, L4, and L7. Overall, it can be concluded that potato seedlings pre-treated with the L4 (R:B:FR) LED spectral composition performed best for growth, establishment, and tuberization.

Agro-techniques for Production of Seed Size Tubers in Conventional Seed Potato Production System–A Review

The seed potato cost is very important component in total potato production and account for 30 to 70% which varies depending on the country or region. Tuber size is an important factor to decide the seed requirement per unit area. Seed size affects total yield, graded or marketable tuber yields. Standard seed tuber of 25–125 g weight (30–55 mm) is known as seed size tubers in India. Obtaining seed size tuber is important for achieving higher potential of the cultivars. The tuber size profile can be reduced or expanded by altering inter and intra row seed spacing, controlling days of growth by planting late or killing vines/haulm early, regulating inputs like fertilizer and water etc. An ideal combination of plant population, row width, and in-row seed spacing for a particular variety were the major factors for optimizing tuber size. Variation in tuber bulking ability in different genotypes results in variation in proportion of seed size tubers among different varieties. 70–80 days haulm killing found most suitable for getting higher proportion of seed size tubers in high bulking varieties. Proper management of N, P and K fertilizers is considered very important to maximize tuber yield and attain desirable quality. Variability in nitrogen dose/ha was observed which ranged from 100–150 between different regions of the world. Hence proper combination of above Agro-techniques should be adopted in seed production programme as per the region for getting higher proportion of seed size/plantable seed tubers.

One-step real-time multiplex reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction assay with melt curve analysis for detection of potato leafroll virus, potato virus S, potato virus X, and potato virus Y

Background Certification of seed potato as free of viruses is essential for stable potato production. Among more than 30 virus species infecting potato, potato leafroll virus (PLRV), potato virus S (PVS), potato virus X (PVX), and potato virus Y (PVY) predominate worldwide and should be the targets of a high-throughput detection protocol for seed potato quarantine. Results We developed an assay based on one-step real-time multiplex reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (mRT-PCR) with melt curve analysis for the four viruses and one internal control, potato elongation factor 1 alpha gene (EF1α). Virus-specific primers were derived from conserved regions among randomly selected representatives considering viral genomic diversity. Our assay simultaneously detected representative Japanese isolates of PLRV, O lineage of PVS, PVX, and NTN strain of PVY. The variability of melting temperature (Tm) values for each virus was confirmed using Japanese isolates, and virus species could be identified by the values of 87.6 for PLRV, 85.9 for PVX, 82.2 (Ordinary lineage) to 83.1 (Andean lineage) for PVS, and 79.4 (NA-N strain) to 80.5 (O strain and NTN strain) for PVY on average. The reliability of calculation was validated by comparing the calculated Tm values and measured Tm values and the values had a strong linear correlation (correlation of determination: R2 = 0.9875). Based on the calculated Tm values, representative non-Japanese isolates could also be identified by our assay. For removing false positives, two criteria were set for the evaluation of result; successful amplification was considered as 30.0 ≥ threshold cycle value, and the virus-specific peak higher than the EF1α-specific peak was considered as positive. According to these criteria, our assay could detect PLRV and PVS from 100-fold dilution of potato leaf homogenate and PVX and PVY from 1000-fold in a model assay. Conclusion This new high-throughput detection protocol using one-step real-time mRT-PCR was sensitive enough to detect viruses in a 100-fold dilution of singly-virus contaminated homogenate in a model assay. This protocol can detect the four viruses in one assay and yield faster results for a vast number of samples, and greatly save the labor for seed potato quarantine and field surveys.