Breeding New Cultivars for Biotic, Abiotic and Quality Traits

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is the third most important food crop after wheat and rice. The crop produces large amounts of biomass within a very short period of time. Numerous biotic and abiotic factors affect production, quality and ultimate end uses. Resistance to the following important pests and diseases is covered: late blight, early blight, bacterial wilt, blackleg and soft rot, dry rot, cyst and root-knot nematodes, viruses, common scab, potato tuber moth and Colorado potato beetle. Use of resistance genes from wild and cultivated species and transgenic resistance are considered. Likewise, results are given and discussed for tolerance to the three abiotic stresses of current concern: drought, salt and heat. The potato is a crop that has a great deal of potential for processing. Prospects are good for improving a number of quality traits, and transgenic gene silencing may prove easier than conventional breeding for solving the problems of acrylamide formation in fried and roasted potatoes and potato products, cold-induced sweetening, and glycoalkaloid production in tubers. Breeding programmes may be accelerated through advances such as marker-assisted selection (MAS), genomic selection (GS), genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and genome editing tools. The purpose of this chapter is to describe the advances in the genetics of biotic, abiotic and quality-related traits as well as how further breeding programs can be based on these findings.