Green Breeding: Bioimpuls Programme 2009-2013 - Perspectives on Phytophthora-resistant potato varieties

The heavy outbreaks of Phytophthora in 2007, and again in 2012, reconfirmed the need for resistant potato varieties for the organic sector. Until recently no such varieties were available. In 2009 the Bioimpulsprogramme was launched to give more priority to breeding organic, Phytophthora-resistant varieties. In this 10-year programme, wild potato species are crossed with cultivated potato to develop new resistant varieties. Although this classical breeding strategy is a long road, the advantage is that you can select for multiple traits along the way. This brochure presents the results of the first four years of the programme