Articles
POTATO BREEDING IN LATIN AMERICA WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO ARGENTINA
The potato crop is of paramount importance in most Latin American countries.
Historically, the potato has been a major component of the diet in the Andean civilizations.
During the last century the potato has spread to temperate non Andean regions and more recently it is increasing its importance in lowland tropical areas.
In the Andean regions there has been direct use of the enormous amount of variability available in its center of diversity.
Although the Incaic and preincaic peoples can be seen as the old time potato breeders, presently the countries in these regions have started breeding programs and as a consequence traditional and improved cultivars coexist.
The genetic base of the cultivars used in the Andean area is mostly Solanum tuberosum ssp. andigena (adg, 2n=4x=48), although diploid (2n=2x=24), triploid (2n=3x=36) and pentaploid (2n=5x=60) cultivars are also used.
Some improved cultivars are adg x S. tuberosum ssp. tuberosum (tbr) hybrids.
It may be said, in general, that the requirements of short daylength have caused an independent development of the potato breeding in these Andean countries in relation to the breeding performed in the northern hemisphere, namely U.S.A. and Europe.
On the other hand some parts of Latin America are characterized by conditions where only tbr cultivars are used.
To a greater or lesser extent this is the case for Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, Cuba, Venezuela, Mexico and the Central American countries.
It may be noted that the good behavior of tbr cultivars is a consequence of either intermediate to high southern latitude, or of a favorable combination of latitude and altitude.
Nowadays, however, the tendency for a sharp distinction between tbr. vs. adg utilization is being mitigated due to the exchange of genetic material enhanced by a more intense breeding activity and the action of international organizations such as CIP, PROCIPA and PRECODEPA. As a consequence, resistance sources and the inherent ability of potatoes to adapt to short daylength have caused that northern hemisphere and Latin American tbr cultivars are planted in these areas.
On the other hand, potato cultivars in tbr growing Latin American countries have arisen mainly through introductions of European and North American tbr materials.
In some instances these introductions have been replaced by national cultivars produced through local breeding efforts.
An analysis of the nature and perspectives of local breeding in Latin America -taking the Argentine case as an example- will be the main purpose of this paper.
The introduction of the potato into lowland tropical areas still remains a challenge in which the strategies of TPS and traditional