National Potato Breeding Program

1
National Potato Breeding Program

• Outcomes for Industry
• Tony Slater, Graeme Wilson, Mark Verstraten

2
National Potato Breeding Program
Commercial evaluation
Commercialisation
Commercial breeding
Prebreeding activities

• Parent development
• Gene marker development
• International links

• 5 programs operating
• 16 companies investing
• Growing interest

• 27 Companies or groups evaluating
• Including Vic Fresh Evaluation group

• 2003 industry evaluation
• 2000 series French fry
• 3,000 tonnes
• 2000 series Crisp
• 250 tonnes
• 2002 series Fresh
• 20 tonnes

Will have outcomes for the entire supply chain
3
Potato Cyst Nematode Resistance

• Parent screening started in 2005
• Resistant parents used in 2006
• Progeny testing 2008
• Genetic analysis of the parents
• Identify better parents to use in future crossing
  programs
• 2010 will see commercial evaluation of PCN
  resistant cultivars from this work

4
Cold Sweetening Resistance

• Parent screening 2008
• Progeny testing 2009
• Identify better parents to use in future crossing
  programs
• Identify current families with resistant
  cultivars
• Resistant parents used in 2009
• Future outcomes will see better storage cultivars

5
Developing trait markers for marker assisted
selection

• Progeny tests used to phenotype families
• Assay markers used to genotype families
• Use common markers with international
  collaborators
• Identify trait marker
• Use trait marker for marker assisted selection
• Adopt trait markers into program
• Future outcome will be the use of trait markers
  in commercial breeding programs

6
National Potato Breeding Program

• Current program model and investment is the
  result of numerous reviews
• Commercial evaluation phase has resulted in rapid
  uptake of cultivars
• Modern breeding program with a focus on future
  needs
• Disease resistance
• Potato Cyst Nematode, Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus,
  Common scab
• Agronomic improvements
• Breeders visual preference, Maturity, Drought
  resistance
• Postharvest improvements
• Cold sweetening resistance, After cooking
  darkening