Source: UNIVERSITY OF MAINE submitted to NRP
BREEDING AND DEVELOPING POTATO VARIETIES WITH ENHANCED RESILIENCE TO ABIOTIC AND BIOTIC STRESSES IN THE EASTERN UNITED STATES
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
ACTIVE
Funding Source
SPECIAL GRANT
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1031307
Grant No.
2023-34141-40975
Cumulative Award Amt.
$1,448,467.00
Proposal No.
2023-05583
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Sep 1, 2023
Project End Date
Aug 31, 2025
Grant Year
2024
Program Code
[AN]- Potato Research
Recipient Organization
UNIVERSITY OF MAINE
(N/A)
ORONO,ME 04469
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Potato breeding and variety development in the eastern U.S. is accomplished through an integrated, seven-state (Florida, Maine, North Carolina, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia) effort together with USDA-ARS potato breeding. Our five collaborating potato breeding programs and associated cooperating researchers conduct multi-site and -disciplinary selection and variety development research across the eastern seaboard. Breeding priorities are determined from stakeholder input. Our overall goal is to develop attractive, high-yield, broadly adapted, and heat stress-tolerant, pest- and disease-resistant potato varieties that can be grown by small and large potato producers to enhance marketing opportunities, farm sustainability, and profits. The specific objectives are:1. Develop superior potato varieties for US Eastern markets based on yield, quality, and maturity assessments across multiple locations.2. Enhance resilience traits in potato using novel germplasm with improved resistance to major pests and diseases.3. Improve potato breeding with cutting-edge tools, including DNA-based markers, genomic selection, and optical imaging of potatoes to facilitate yield and quality quantification.4. Use database analytics to improve breeding efficiency, increase access to information about novel potato germplasm and enhance extension activities.Our project utilizes conventional and marker-assisted breeding and selection to develop highly productive new varieties with resistance to abiotic stresses, as well as plant diseases such as late blight, scab, potato virus y (PVY), early blight, pink rot, bacterial soft rot, and golden nematode. Genomic selection is now being integrated into our programs to improve genetic gain for critical traits.Our selection procedures utilize diverse eastern growing conditions to select potato germplasm with broad adaptation, resistance to pests, heat stress, and stress-related defects. Our programs continue to adopt uniform data collection and distributiontechniques to facilitate communication with stakeholders and among researchers.?
Animal Health Component
85%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
85%
Developmental
15%
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
2011310108160%
2031310108110%
2041310108110%
2121310108120%
Knowledge Area
212 - Pathogens and Nematodes Affecting Plants; 204 - Plant Product Quality and Utility (Preharvest); 203 - Plant Biological Efficiency and Abiotic Stresses Affecting Plants; 201 - Plant Genome, Genetics, and Genetic Mechanisms;

Subject Of Investigation
1310 - Potato;

Field Of Science
1081 - Breeding;
Goals / Objectives
Our overall goal is to develop high-yield, good tuber appearance, broadly adapted, pest- and disease-resistant potato varieties that will be suitable for cultivation by both small and large-scale producers, providing greater marketing opportunities and promoting long-term sustainability and profitability for farms. The specific objectives are: 1) Develop superior potato varieties for US Eastern markets based on yield, quality, and maturity assessments across multiple locations; 2) Enhance resilience traits in potato using novel germplasm with improved resistance to major pests and diseases; 3) Improve potato breeding with cutting-edge tools, including DNA-based markers, genomic selection, and optical imaging of potatoes to facilitate yield and quality quantification; 4)Use database analytics to improve breeding efficiency, increase access to information about novel potato germplasm and enhance extension activities.
Project Methods
Objective 1. Develop superior potato varieties for US Eastern markets based on yield, quality, and maturity assessments across multiple locations. Subobjective 1a. Create 115,000 new seedlings yearly and evaluate early- and advanced-generation clones for improved yield, market quality, maturity, and adaptation. Initial crossing and germplasm improvement are conducted by the ME, NY, NC, FL, and USDA-ARS potato breeding programs. Parents are selected for desirable traits such as yield, quality, and biotic and abiotic resistance, as well as male and female fertility. Each family is used to produce seedling tubers either in the greenhouse (NC, ME, FL, USDA) or in outdoor pots (NY). The seedling tubers are used for subsequent field selection. Initial selection takes place during the first field season and is based on tuber appearance, tuber size, and parental background. Across the region, our programs currently screen ~115,000 first-year seedlings each year (ME 45,000; NY 18,000; NC 12,000; FL 10,000; USDA 30,000). Selection intensity depends on the program, ~2-10% are visually selected in the 1st year. Selected clones undergo further field testing and screening for 5-8 years at multiple locations to evaluate yield, quality (e.g., tuber size distribution, appearance, quality), disease resistance (e.g., scab, late blight, Verticillium wilt), and other characteristics (e.g., bruise susceptibility, maturity). As promising materials are advanced and seed supplies increase, the selected clones enter replicated yield trials (4th-year and later clones). The most promising clones are entered into the regional NE-2231 trials for further screening and selection in diverse environmental conditions. We will focus on developing new improved chipping (ME, NC, NY, USDA) and fry processing clones (ME). Subobjective 1b. Screen new potato clones for heat tolerance and maturity using our multi-site variety trial program. Selection environment plays a key role in determining germplasm attributes. As part of this project, the ME, NY, and USDA breeding programs have supplemented their traditional selection procedures with early selection at one or more sites to develop specifically and/or widely adapted potato germplasm, and simultaneously address the needs of potato growers in the mid-Atlantic and SE states, where heat stress and internal heat necrosis commonly limit tuber yield and quality. For instance, each 3rd year clone (~250-350/year) from ME program is sent to NC for selection and evaluation under heat stress conditions. FL also screens 3rd year, white- and colored-skin clones (~150/year) from ME, while PA screens all ME 4th year russet material for heat tolerance. Similarly, the selection of USDA 2nd year materials (~400 clones/year) typically occur simultaneously in northern ME and at two southern locations (FL and NC). To determine the clones' ability to withstand high temperatures, they will undergo an evaluation process in multiple sites, this assessment involves measuring each clone's yield, specific gravity, incidence of IHN, and chipping potential. Objective 2. Enhance resilience traits in potato using novel germplasm with improved resistance to major pests and diseases. Subobjective 2a. Generate new disease and pest resistant potato clones within our potato breeding programs. To tackle present and emerging pests and diseases, we will continue to invest resources in developing new disease and pest resistance potato clones within our programs using elite, disease and pest resistant parents that produce offspring segregating for late blight, early blight, scab, softrot, virus, and nematode resistance. Subobjective 2b. Evaluate disease resistance under uniform screening conditions. All advanced clones that are submitted to the NE-2231 Eastern regional trial will be evaluated for resistance to major potato diseases under uniform conditions. This assessment provides baseline comparative information to help breeding programs, and the industry decide on the merits of new potato clones. Subobjective 2c. Develop and evaluate predictive value of marker(s) for resistance to late blight. We will continue by genotyping our late blight resistant populations and work on identification of QTL identification using phenotypic (field trials) and genotypic (SolCAP SNP array) data. SNPs linked to resistance will be developed as markers for future selection efforts. Subobjective 2d. Evaluate ability of a newly developed marker on chromosome 5 to predict resistance to pathotype Ro2 of the golden nematode. QTL mapping in a bi-parental population recently identified SNP markers on chromosome 5 associated with resistance to pathotype Ro2. These SNP markers will continue to be assessed for their ability to predict resistance to Ro2 in other NY crosses. Subobjective 2e. Develop potato blackleg and soft rot (PBSR) resistant germplasm. ME has identified Caribou Russet and USDA clones that exhibit high levels of tolerance to PBSR. Using a primary DH population from Caribou Russet will identify QTLs for blackleg resistance. Linked markers found will be tested in tetraploid crosses with Caribou Russet. Objective 3. Improve potato breeding with cutting-edge tools, including DNA-based markers, genomic selection, and optical imaging of potatoes to facilitate yield and quality quantification. Subobjective 3a. Integrate genomic selection for improved potato yield, maturity, quality, maturity, and heat tolerance into our breeding programs. We will calibrate GS models and carry out studies to demonstrate the GS efficacy for selection of potato varieties and parents that exhibit desirable traits. We will continue our efforts to build training populations by genotyping and phenotyping ~200 3rd year clones/year each from ME and NC; ~150 3rd year clones/year each from FL and NY. The SolCAP Infinium V4 SNP array will serve as platform for genotyping. Our team will work together to evaluate the performance of site specific, and joint models that combine multi-trait analysis and/or that combine phenotype from multiple breeding programs. Subobjective 3b. Develop and evaluate predictive value of marker(s) for internal heat necrosis (IHN). We will genotype a chip stock training population using medium to high-density SNP markers and phenotype this population using the typically good IHN-inducing conditions experienced under NC field conditions. We will use this information to validate QTL previously discovered through GWAS, and validate and ultimately develop KASP markers linked to IHN. Subobjective 3c. Use of high-throughput optical imaging tools to improve the potato breeding process. Use of UAV, equipped with multispectral sensors, to estimate plant maturity in early and advanced trials, foliar disease damage, and NUE in advanced clones; and validate these estimates compared to ground-based evaluations. Automatize the tuber grading process using a sensor-equipped grader. To facilitate optical imaging, NC will translate their sweetpotato phenotyping tools (software, hardware, and methods) for use in potato. Objective 4. Use database analytics to improve breeding efficiency, increase access to information about novel potato germplasm and enhance extension activities. We will continue to make project results available on a searchable website. Our searchable database is now available on our Variety Data Management website. Data are freely available to researchers, extension professionals, industry, and others. Stakeholder input, potato variety development, extension activities. Potato variety development is impossible without active engagement among researchers, extension, and stakeholders. Breeders, pathologists, entomologists, agronomists, and others on the project team remain in ongoing communication with many people representing all sectors within the US potato industry and will use this information to set priorities, inform our approach, and facilitate the release and adoption of new varieties.

Progress 09/01/23 to 08/31/24

Outputs
Target Audience:Our project targets a diverse audience including potato growers, processors, home gardeners, and consumers of potatoes and potato products. Research findings are disseminated through comprehensive written reports produced by each institution involved in the project, including a general report (NE2231 report), popular press releases, and on our official websites. Field days and presentations at grower meetings are integral parts of our outreach efforts. Some of the new potato varieties are sold directly to consumers via supermarkets, farmers' markets, and roadside stands, while others are utilized by potato chip and/or french fry processors, providing another avenue to reach our target audience. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Students, technicians, and professionals working on the project learned about agricultural research, potato breeding, potato cultivar development, and the need for improved potato varieties. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Data management and outreach Data management is critical to a successful breeding program as we generate large amounts of phenotypic and genotypic data. To this goal, websites and searchable databases are constantly expanding as we add data from our regional and advanced trials every year. The database is stored in a powerful and user-friendly platform called Variety Data Management (VDM) (https://neproject.medius.re/). The website provides current contact information for project cooperators and research and variety trials reports, as well as access to our searchable regional variety database and a dynamic summary generator for all released varieties. This database offers side-by-side comparative data for potato clones and varieties, as well as advanced analytical tools. It is a valuable resource for researchers, Extension, and stakeholders, and a great tool for advertising our new varieties. Advanced clones from our project were introduced to growers through field days, on-farm demonstrations, presentations, publications, websites, web-based presentations, and direct contact with stakeholders at state, regional, and national potato industry meetings. Impact of Released Varieties Even after a variety has been released, it can take many years until it becomes clear how well the variety has met industry needs. The advanced clones and releases from the Eastern project continue to be commercially evaluated and adopted by farmers and our industry stakeholders. Looking back at varieties released by this project over the past ten years, the following have had an especially significant impact (each ranking among the top 100 most widely grown varieties in the US in 2023). Caribou Russet, released by ME in 2015 for fry processing and russet fresh market, has been rapidly adopted due to high yields, scab and verticillium resistance, and excellent consumer quality. Certified seed acreage rose to 1896 acres, making it the 10th most widely grown variety in 2023. Hamlin Russet was released by ME during 2021 for early fry processing and russet fresh market and is moderately resistant to common scab; seed acreage in 2023 rose to 392 acres (ranks 42nd in the US). Lady Liberty, a chipping variety released by NY in 2018, is resistant to the golden nematode and PVY; at 472 acres of seed, it ranked 36th in 2023. Bliss, another NY chipping variety, was released in early 2023 and currently ranks 76th (100 acres of seed). Recent Eastern releases were grown on 4,410 seed acres in Maine and New York during the 2023 season, with a seed value of approximately $12 million. The resulting seed crop has the potential to plant 33,401 acres in 2024, with a ware value estimated at $109 million. Nationally, varieties released by our long-term project were grown on 10,504 seed acres during 2023, with an approximate seed value of $24.1 million and a potential 2024 ware production value of $223.6 million. Several varieties developed through our collective efforts are in the top 100 U.S. varieties based on seed acreage, including Lamoka (3,011 acres, rank 8), Caribou Russet (1,895 acres, rank 12), Waneta (1,386 acres, rank 14), Lady Liberty (472 acres, rank 37), Lehigh (319 acres, rank 50), Hamlin Russet (392 acres, rank 45), Genesee (107 acres, rank 78), Reba (107 acres, rank 80), and Eva (81 acres, rank 92). What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The research team plans to continue research, development, and outreach activities according to our approved project proposal and work plan.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Potato breeding for improved quality, stress tolerance, and pest resistance was conducted in FL, ME, NY, and NC during 2023. During the 2023 season, our programs collectively generated 972 new tetraploid families (767,228 true potato seeds (TPS)) from crosses using parents with desirable quality, utilization, adaptation, and/or pest resistance traits. Progeny (74,438) from earlier crosses (2022 and older) were field-selected resulting in 3,017 clones that are being further evaluated during 2024 under conditions with diverse abiotic and biotic stress in the eastern US and beyond. Even though all five breeding programs collaborate towards a common goal, each program focuses on specific pests, climate stress, and market needs. This allows for efficient use of regional resources. For example, Maine is the only state in the region with a breeding program that focuses on russets and long whites for processing, reflecting the strong processing industry present in the state. In terms of pests and diseases, ME emphasizes research on late blight, pink rot, potato virus Y (PVY), soft rot, and common scab resistance. New York focuses on white-skinned chipping crosses, but also selects fresh-market clones of varying skin and flesh colors and emphasizes resistance to golden nematode, common scab, and PVY, but also crosses for late blight, and pale cyst nematode. ME has also made progress in diploid breeding efforts. During the 2023 season, 180 dihaploids lines were field evaluated to assess plant development, tuber yield, and quality. Promising lines, 34 russet and 15 chip primary dihaploids were identified in the trial and selected for re-trialing in 2024 and for potential use as parents for new crosses. In 2023, we performed crosses for haploid induction (HI), selfing and intercross between primary dihaploids and diploid breeding lines containing the Sli self-incompatibility inhibitor. In total, at least 2346 crosses were made (each cross consisting of multiple flowers) with 1006 for HI, 482 selfing and 858 intercrosses respectively. For haploid induction, we were able to obtain a total of 716 berries from the eight tetraploid varieties and elite clones used as female. In total, 11749 seeds from HI crosses were processed, counted, and sorted. We are currently assessing the 1473 non-spotted seeds for chloroplast counting and nodal banding patterns. We continue our efforts to fully implement genomic selection in our programs, as it holds much promise for accelerating breeding progress. North Carolina phenotyped and genotyped (with assistance from Florida) 600 second-year clones to generate breeding values for specific gravity and marketable yield; this data was used to inform the selection of third-year clones. During the 2023 season, Maine genotyped another 188 third-year clones, bringing their total training population up to 768 genotyped and phenotyped clones. Florida genotyped a population that includes the chipping and fresh market parents of their nascent breeding program at 22,000 SNP loci using the Flex-Seq platform and the initial GS training population developed by NCSU was also genotyped using the DArTag platform. Preliminary training of their genomic selection models resulted in prediction accuracies of 0.58 for marketable yield and 0.44 for specific gravity. We believe the integration and implementation of GS in our breeding programs will mark a substantial shift towards more predictive, precise, and efficient breeding practices. We envision that this will enable us to trim roughly 1.5 years from the breeding process, and trial fewer targeted materials of known predicted performance in more environments. To provide the improved data quality required for GS and data analytics, North Carolina is collaborating with Co-PI Dr. Michael Kudenov in NCSU's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering to implement an optical grading system on our existing grading line. Maine is also installing a state-of-the-art optical grader purchased from Exeter Engineering. Both programs plan to implement this system in 2024-25. The optical grading system will enable us to take pictures of individual tubers and provide high throughput data that includes tuber size, plot yield, skin color, and defects. Ohio continues to test similar digital photography and color scanning approaches for streamlining and enhancing the reproducibility of specific data collection process. Biotic and Abiotic Resistance A vital part of our project is disease screening, which is crucial for potato variety development. Disease-resistant varieties generated by this project have the potential to greatly reduce growers' losses to devastating diseases such as late blight, pink rot, and PVY, and can also reduce agricultural chemical use and production costs. Screening trials in 2023 in Pennsylvania evaluated our NE2231 and advanced breeding clones for tolerance to early blight (52 clones), late blight (234 clones), and common scab (141 clones). In 2024, 55, 245, and 66 advanced breeding clones are being evaluated for resistance to early blight, late blight, and common scab respectively, in Pennsylvania. Extensive use of molecular markers was employed to increase the frequency of PVY resistance in our programs in New York, Maine, and North Carolina. Maine, New York, and North Carolina all use molecular markers for golden nematode resistance and Maine conducted additional screening trials during the 2023 season for susceptibility to late blight, common scab, verticillium wilt, soft rot, pink rot, PVY, and PLRV. Similar trials will be conducted in the 2024 season. New York annually screens all its advanced clones for common scab (field screening) and golden nematode (bioassay) resistance. To improve potatoes for resistance to heat stress, in 2023 Florida planted a trial, for the second year, to evaluate heat tolerance in a diverse population. A severe hailstorm damaged the field and hindered data collection, so the trial will be repeated in 2024. The first year of data revealed cultivars that performed better than commercial checks under high heat conditions. These cultivars were included in Florida's crossing blocks to generate new populations for future evaluation. To begin understanding the genetics of nitrogen uptake efficiency (NUE), the same population evaluated for heat tolerance was also used to evaluate genotypic response to varying amounts of applied nitrogen. As expected, genotype by environment interaction was observed, and the experiment will be repeated in 2024. The Maine breeding program also works to increase heat tolerance in its germplasm to identify clones that perform well in the northeastern regions but have potential for use in southern locations. To this end, Maine trialed their early-generation clones in Florida, North Carolina, and Ohio for heat tolerance screening.

Publications

  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Zotarelli, L. and P. Solano. 2023. Florida Potato Variety Trial Report, 2023. Horticultural Sciences Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, Volume 14. Available at https://hos.ifas.ufl.edu/extension/variety-trials/
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Porter, G.A., Andrade, M.H.M.L., P. Ocaya, and B. Plummer. 2024. 2023 MAINE POTATO VARIETY TRIALS NE2231 REGIONAL TRIALS AND ADVANCED BREEDING LINES PRESQUE ISLE, MAINE - posted on https://neproject.medius.re and distributed to industry. 2023-01, 37 pp.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: De Jong, W.S. and M. Falise. 2023. Cornell potato breeding program annual report. 29 pp. https://blogs.cornell.edu/varietytrials/potato-breeding-trials/
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Kleinhenz, M.D., and S.D. Walker. 2023. 2023 Ohio Potato Germplasm Evaluation Report - in Cooperation with the Northeast Regional Project (NE-2231), The Ohio State University Horticulture and Crop Science Series. Dec. 2023. 85 pp. https://u.osu.edu/vegprolab/technical-reports/
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Xinshun, Q., and Cohen, A., 2024. Pennsylvania Potato Research Report, 2023. Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences, January 2024. 59 pp. Plant Disease Management Reports.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Quezada, E.T., Mirabal, A.S., Mendonza, J.A., 2023. 2023 Potato Variety Evaluation for the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Eastern Shore Agricultural Research and Extension Center, 11 pp. https://www.pubs.ext.vt.edu/SPES/spes-521/spes-521.html
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Spychalla P, and De Jong WS (2024). Breeding for Potato Cyst Nematode Resistance in Solanum tuberosum. Crop Science 2024; 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1002/csc2.21244
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: De Jong WS, Wang X, Halseth DE, Plaisted RL, Perry KL, Qu X, Paddock KM, Falise M, Dandurand L-M, Christ BJ, and Porter GA (2024) Brodie, a Dual-Purpose Chipping and Tablestock Variety with Resistance to Pathotypes Ro1 and Ro2 of the Golden Cyst Nematode and Partial Resistance to Pathotype Pa2/3 of the Pale Cyst Nematode. American Journal of Potato Research 101:45-51. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12230-023-09939-x
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Anglin NL, Yellareddygari SKR, Gudmestad NC, Sathuvalli V, Brown CR, Feldman M, De Jong WS, Douches DS, Yellareddygari SKR, Novy RG, Coombs JJ (2024) A Genome Wide Association Study (GWAS) Identifies SNPs Associated with Resistance to Tobacco Rattle Virus (TRV) and Potato Mop-Top Virus (PMTV) in a Tetraploid Mapping Population of Potato. American Journal of Potato Research 101:1-16. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12230-023-09933-3