Genetic Progress in 50 Years of Potato Breeding in India: Where Do We Stand?

Although the potato is a crop that was introduced in India, it has become a staple food and is grown in both the hills and plains. Potato breeding started in India in the 1950s’ and has contributed significantly to improving production. However, it is important to ascertain genetic progress in terms of changes in its yield over time. This study used the ‘Era trial’ methodology, wherein 22 potato varieties released in different decades ranging from 1968-2012 were evaluated in replicated multi-location trials for three consecutive years (2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17) in four potato growing zones of the country. The traits recorded were total tuber yield, marketable tuber yield and tuber dry matter content. Mixed model REML analysis showed significant differences among varieties and environments. Tuber dry matter content showed the least variation among varieties. The highest tuber yields were observed in the West-Central plains (WCP), while mean tuber yields were high in the North-Western plains (NWP). The zone-wise entry mean based broad-sense heritability estimates for all the three traits were high, although individual environment estimates observed low and moderate heritability too. Genetic gain results showed a positive trend for total and marketable tuber yields in NWP, WCP and Hill region (HR), while no gain was observed in the Eastern plains (EP) zone. The maximum annual rate of genetic gain for total tuber yield was 0.4%, 0.3% and 0.2% in WCP, HR and NWP. Positive genetic gain for tuber dry matter content was 0.2% in HR and 0.08% in WCP, while the other two zones had negative genetic gain for the trait. The annual rate of genetic gain for tuber yields and dry matter in potatoes does not commensurate with the future demand for the crop, underlining the need for holistic modern breeding techniques to boost genetic gains in potato breeding in India