Recent advances in production of healthy planting material for disease management in Potato

Abstract

Unlike most crops where ’true‘ seed is used for cultivation, potato is usually propagated through tubers. This vegetative mode of propagation is beset with many problems; the most important of which is a progressive and significant decline in the yield potential of seed tubers over the years. Use of high yielding varieties and quality planting materials are two important prerequisites for healthy seed potato production. Low rate of tuber multiplication, high seed (tuber) rate, and progressive accumulation of degenerative viruses, perishability and bulkiness are inherent problems in potato seed production. This may results in non-availability of adequate quantities of quality seeds at affordable price and seed cost alone reflects 40–50% to the total costs of cultivation in potato. To circumvent some of these problems, several modifications such as tuber indexing for virus freedom, seed multiplication stages and seed certification standards have been developed and integrated with conventional potato seed production programmes. The advent of tissue culture, in which virus-free plants can be produced through meristem culture, maintained indefinitely under controlled conditions and multiplied in artificial media under sterile conditions in the laboratory throughout the year irrespective of growing season, has revolutionized seed production in potato world over. Recent developments in automation of minitubers production have further enhanced adaptability of these techniques in potato seed production. In addition to quality assurance through meristem culture, aeroponic technique of minitubers production ensures high multiplication rate at initial stages of quality seed potato production.