b'WORLDREVIEWMOZAMBIQUE It is also disease free which is not the case withNorth Carolina State University, the University A pilot trial of true potato seed in Angonia District,traditional seed potatoes. of Minnesota and Oregon State University, the Tete province in Mozambique has shown greatSolidaridad will expand their collaborationrelease says.potential too drastically improve and innovatein Angonia with the hope of launching this newGenomic-assisted tools for hybridizing diploid potato production in the area, Solynta says in asystem in the near future, the release says. crops have recently become available and are news release. now widely used to improve a variety of crops, the Between August 2019 and April 2020,NORTH WEST EUROPE report notes. Adapting these tools for polyploid Solidaridad Mozambique and Solynta executedIf all potatoes are dug, potato production in northcrops, such as potatoes, has proven difficult the first hybrid True Potato Seed field trial everwestern Europe will drop by 15 per cent to 27.9though, requiring plant geneticists and growers to in Mozambiquegrowing potatoes from truemillion tons this year, the North-Western Europeanemploy traditional crossing and selection methods seeds rather than traditional seed potatoes, thePotato Growers (NEPG) say in a news release onwhich can take more than a decade to produce release says. The seedlings were raised in traysOct. 22. improved cultivars. A key goal of this project is to for six weeks, after which they were transplantedThe harvest has been later than usual withdevelop faster, more reliable polyploid breeding to farmers fields. there still being some potatoes in the ground inmethods to speed introduction of new potato Solynta provided several hybrid seed varietieswet areas in the United Kingdom and westernvarieties.to assess adaptability as well as technicalBelgium. The exciting new DNA-based tools that advice. Solidaridad Mozambique trained andNext year the NEPG expect growers in the areawill be developed in this research project have supported farmers in applying good farmingwill plant 15 per cent less potatoes. The pandemicthe potential to speed up the delivery of new, practices, including soil management, fertilizinghas caused a global drop in demand for processedhigher quality, high yielding, pest resistant potato and crop protection, the report says. Several localpotato products with the demand for raw materialvarieties to Maine growers and the U.S. potato institutions, such as Universidade Unizambezi,from factories is about 85 per cent compared toindustry, Porter says in the release. These tools supported the initiative. last year, the release says. could reduce the timeline from hybridization to The results are very encouragingaverageEuropean and North American potato proces- cultivar evaluation by 50 per cent.yields of the three varieties ranged from 8.5 MT/ sors have large stocks of products ready in theirPorter and Tan will integrate these newly ha to as much as 25.9 MT/ha in comparison tocold storage and will need less raw material, thedeveloped software and computational tools in the the yields of 8 MT/ha of local control varieties,release notes. NEPG expects next years contractUniversity of Maines conventional potato breeding Mandla Nkomo, managing director of Solidaridadvolumes will be reduced, however contract pricesprogram to identify desirable traits in locally Southern Africa, says in the release. will not. adapted cultivars, and to map those character-Angonia in the western part of Mozambique isistics to the potato genome, the release notes. the main potato production region in that country,UNITED STATES These tools will also be available on a community with around 63,000 farmers producing aroundTwo researchers at the University of Maine haveresource website managed by Washington State 90 per cent of the Mozambican potatoes. As inpartnered with a team of plant geneticists andUniversity.most other African countries, potato consumptionbreeders to develop tools which will help Maine in Mozambique is increasing rapidly, the releasescientists and farmers become more efficient notes. in breeding new cultivars and bringing novel, If our pilot results are replicated in localimproved potato varieties to market, the university farmer fields production of potatoes in Mozam- says in a news release.bique can be increased more than 50 per cent.Greg Porter, professor of crop ecology and This will help to reduce dependence on importedmanagement in the School of Food and Agri-ware potatoes as well as help to develop a localculture, and E. Han Tan, assistant professor of supply of quality seed, Charles Miller, commercialplant genetics with the School of Biology and director at Solynta, says in the release. Ecology, are taking part in the project, the release Solyntas innovation of hybrid potatoes makesnotes. The team is working to develop and test it possible to distribute new varieties from botanicgenomics-assisted tools which will help advance seed instead of seed potatoes. This technologybreeding work with polyploid food crops such makes it possible to rapidly develop new potatoas potatoes and sweet potatoes, ornamentals varieties with a higher nutritional value andsuch as roses, and aesthetic grasses, including attuned to specific local or regional needs. turfgrass.True potato seeds also have major logisticalThe project is led by researchers from Texas benefits as 25 grams of true seed is comparableA&M University through a US$4.3 million grant to 2,500 kg of seed tubers. True seed is easier tofrom the United States Department of Agricul-store and cheaper to transport, making it easier totures National Institute of Food and Agriculture. access for smallholder families in remote areas.Other schools involved include Cornell University, 74 SPUDSMART.COM WINTER 2021'