Plant Breeding & Variety Development Archives

Solynta Granted US Patent for Hybrid True Potato Seed Development

Compiled by Staff on January 14, 2020

Solynta, the inventor and global leader in the breeding of hybrid potato cultivars produced from true potato seed, announced the grant of U.S. Patent Serial No. 10,524,436 entitled “Hybrid Potato Breeding.” The patent claims Solynta’s methods of producing potato inbreds and hybrids that are propagated from true seed. Dr. Pim Lindhout, Solynta’s Chief Scientific Officer, states “Solynta’s innovative Hybrid True Potato Seed breeding will finally unlock the humble potato’s vast potential. Not only producing more and better food but…

GM Potato Trials Point to Blight-Resistant Crops of the Future

Compiled by Staff on December 3, 2019

A genetically modified potato with improved tuber quality and resistance to the devastating disease late blight has progressed successfully through the latest stage of trials. The field trials follow successful lab experiments to modify Maris Piper potatoes with late blight resistance genes from wild relatives of potato called Solanum americanum and Solanum venturii. To improve tuber quality, the modified Maris Piper lines also have genes switched off – or “silenced” – to…

First Argentine GM Potato to be Released in 2020

Compiled by Staff on October 24, 2019

The National Council of Technical and Scientific Research (CONICET) commenced with the registration of the first biotech potato variety in Argentina to the National Seed Institute. CONICET, in partnership with Sidus, developed the biotech potato with resistance to virus Y called SPT TICAR. This new biotech potato variety is expected to provide potato farmers with 10% cost savings, reduction in the use of insecticides, and general improvement of competitiveness across the value…

From our Desk

Unlocking the Potato’s True Potential

By Kari Belanger on October 23, 2019

LAST AUGUST, at the Potato Association of America (PAA) annual meeting, I had an opportunity to talk with Michiel de Vries, Solynta’s research team lead, about the work he and his colleagues are carrying out. Solynta, a potato seed breeding company based in Wageningen, the Netherlands, has invented a fast and efficient hybrid breeding technology. One that could change global food consumption and unlock the true potential of the potato, de Vries…

Complex Potato Genome Further Unveiled

Compiled by Staff on September 20, 2019

The potato is one of the most important food crops worldwide. Improvements to its traits can therefore have a major impact. Reading the genome structure of the potato is extremely tricky, however, as a regular potato consists of four genomes, which makes it difficult to determine the position of the genes. The recent research applied a diploid real potato plant with only one genome, a so-called homozygote, which makes it easier to read and compare the DNA base sequence. This plant, Solyntus, was produced as part of Solynta’s hybrid potato breeding programme. The genome…

New potato variety named after Alliston, spud capital of Ontario

Compiled by Staff on August 12, 2019

By Brad Pritchard, Alliston Herald You’ve eaten countless potatoes grown in the sandy loam soils of Alliston, but until now you’ve never chowed down on an Alliston potato. Well, you better get those potato mashers ready, because there’s a new tater in town that could change that. In mid-July, a new variety of potato named Alliston was officially registered with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, making it the first tater in history…

New Potato Helps Farmers Weather the Frost in Peru

Compiled by Staff on July 22, 2019

By William Schaefer, University of Wisconsin-Madison In a country with more than 5,000 potato varieties, you might not expect the arrival of another one to be a big deal. But this is Peru, where the potato was first domesticated and still plays a vital role in national identity. In Spanish you might call it patrimonio or orgullo; in English it translates to national pride or honor. However it’s phrased, for the people…

Community and Science Strengthens Industry

By Kari Belanger on July 10, 2019

Robert Thornton, an extension vegetable specialist and professor emeritus at Washington State University has been attending Potato Association of America (PAA) annual meetings since the early 1960s. He says the biggest reason he has maintained his membership for more than five decades is it keeps him honest. “Every year is an opportunity to have your thinking questioned,” Thornton says. “You can stay isolated in your own area of concern and be very…

Cornell Improves Global Access to Potato Breeding Material

Compiled by Staff on June 6, 2019

By Maina Dhital Cornell’s plant breeders and geneticists have played a significant role in the improvement of the potato, having released more than 50 varieties since 1908. Cornell researchers are now expanding their efforts to make more wild potato seeds available to potato breeders around the world. With support from the Wallace Genetic Foundation, Cornell scientists continue their efforts in the Cornell-Eastern Europe-Mexico (CEEM) International Collaborative Project on Potato Late Blight control…

How Potatoes Could Become Sun Worshippers

Compiled by Staff on May 15, 2019

If there’s one thing potato plants don’t like, it’s heat. If the temperature is too high, potato plants form significantly lower numbers of tubers or sometimes none at all. Biochemists at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) have now discovered the reason why. If the temperature rises, a so-called small RNA blocks the formation of tubers. The scientists have now successfully switched off this small RNA and have produced potato plants that are more resistant…

Spudsmart

Browsing Category Plant Breeding & Variety Development