Direct regeneration-mediated in vitro propagation and microtuberization of potato: An appraisal of the past ten-year period

Abstract

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is one of the most important food crops widely cultivated worldwide due to its edible and nutrition-rich tubers. It is a temperate crop; however, currently, it is grown in a wide range of areas with distinctive climatic conditions. Traditionally, potato is propagated by whole or cut tubers and true potato seeds. Owing to the low rate of multiplication and high cost of cultivation to produce virus-free planting material during traditional propagation, the in vitro technique becomes an alternative approach to conventional propagation. Over the past ten years, significant advancements have been made in the optimization of protocols for several varieties/cultivars of potato via a direct regeneration-mediated approach. The present short-review illustrates the analysis of an array of significant published findings on various physical and chemical variables that are responsible for fruitful in vitro direct regeneration and microtuberization of potato. Furthermore, this short-review describes a number of undiscovered areas, research gaps, and major problems that might be accounted for advancing noteworthy ingenious approaches associated with potato biotechnology in the near future. The current short-review further addresses salient recommendations and conclusions (based on achievements during the last ten-year period), paving the way for potato researchers to work on several unexplored areas in the coming years.