b'True Potato Seeds Could Feed the WorldWhile the future of true potato seeds is still in the distance, experts say they could have major implications for the future.BY: ALEX MARTINWHEN IT COMES to new innovations in the potato sector, true potato seeds come to mind. The small seeds are newer to growers, and while their future might be further off, they could have giant implications. Commercial potato growers should be familiar with production using seed tubers, which are actually a form of vegetative production of plants, says Helen Tai, a potato genetics and genomics research scientist with Agriculture and Agri Food Canada. The tuber and the plants derived from the tuber areHelen Tai, a potato genetics and genomicsCharles Miller, commercial director of Solyntagenetically identical. research scientist with Agriculture and Agri Food CanadaThis form of production is called clonal propagation, but the important part tohave a big impact on the global foodstorage, and that reduction could have note? That plant also produces flowers,supply and quality, says Charles Miller,a bigger impact on reducing the carbon which when pollinated, produce fruitcommercial director of Solynta. The mostfootprint on the planet. called seed balls.obvious and biggest place they can haveThese tiny seeds can be store and Inside these seed balls are hundredsan impact is in logistics and scaling. shipped easily, he says. Then, the of small seeds that can be sown into theTwenty-five grams of true potato seedfarmer can store those seeds for years just ground to grow another plant, she says.can replace two and a half tons of seedlike any vegetable can be stored. True This is how a potato propagates itself.tubers, which are needed to plant onepotato seeds alleviate all the headaches Those seeds within the seed balls arehectare of potatoes, according to Miller.that come along with shipping traditional where true potato seed comes from andThat could reduce transportation andseed tubers.is just another reproductive strategy for potato plants. Tai says this isnt a new innovation, as people in the Andes in South America have grown potato from both true potato seed and tubers for thousands of years. Its almost like whats old is new again, she says.But the big key is how true potato seeds could impact global food production for the better.True potato seeds can really True potato seed in a vial.PHOTO: SOLYNTA26SPUDSMART.COM Spring 2022'