Adoption of potato varieties and their role for climate change adaptation in India

Abstract

Adoption of improved varieties is an important strategy to adapt to the negative implication associated with climate change and variability. However, incomplete data on varietal release and adoption is often the reality in many countries hindering informed decision-making on breeding and varietal dissemination strategies to effectively adapt to climate change. In taking the example of potatoes in India, we analyze the extent to which the potato sector is resilient to climate change. We do so by comparing state-level climate change projections with adoption of high resistant and tolerant potato varieties to major abiotic and biotic stresses. Release and adoption data was collected in 2016 in six expert elicitation workshops conducted with 130 experts from the potato value chain in Bihar, Gujarat, Karnataka, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. We found that from the total of 81 releases, 45 improved varieties are adopted in India and that in each state high resistant and tolerant varieties are cultivated providing some degree of varietal resilience. Early maturity has been the most important and heat tolerance is the least important trait. Comparing climate projections with adoption rates of high resistant and tolerant varieties, we found that Gujarat is relatively most resilient. In other states we found some mismatches between climate projections and adopted specific varietal traits. Our results allow policy-makers and breeders to better prioritize investments into breeding for specific traits and dissemination strategies.

Sustainable Intensification of Rice-Based Systems with Potato in Eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains

“…The expert elicitation reveals that about 7% (or 61,125 ha) of the total potato area in our study region is planted to earlymaturing varieties (i.e.,, Granola in Bangladesh; Kufri Pukhraj, K22, Kufri Chandramukhi in West Bengal) (Gatto et al 2018) which are suitable for intensification in ricefallow-rice cropping systems. Earliness has been identified as relatively most important also in the context of climate change adaptation in India (Pradel et al 2019). Medium bulking varieties which mature at best within 90 days cover 71% (or 619,985 ha) of the total potato area ( Table 1).…”

BLUP and stability analysis of multi-environment trials of potato varieties in sub-tropical Indian conditions

“…On the basis of the diverse soil, climate, agronomic features and the varietal requirements, the potato growing areas in India can be divided into eight zones covering hills, North, Central, Eastern and Western plains, and plateau region. Although, potato is grown in diverse agro-ecologies in eight zones in India, the major potato growing area (>80%) is in Indo-Gangetic plains ( Pradel et al., 2019 ). Requirements of varieties vary with the growing environment and ultimate use.…”

The Use of the WOFOST Model to Simulate Water-Limited Yield of Early Potato Cultivars

“…Potato, due to its shallow root system, is considered to be the most drought-sensitive crop species [20,21]. Early and late varieties are particularly vulnerable to early stress, which is most detrimental to tuberization, bulking and tuber yield due to decreased leaf area, decreased photosynthetic rates and reduced partitioning of assimilates to tubers [22,23]. Because potato growth and tuber yield largely depend on rainfall, even a short period of water deficit can cause a substantial loss of tuber yield (50%) and deterioration of tuber quality [23][24][25][26][27].…”

“…Early and late varieties are particularly vulnerable to early stress, which is most detrimental to tuberization, bulking and tuber yield due to decreased leaf area, decreased photosynthetic rates and reduced partitioning of assimilates to tubers [22,23]. Because potato growth and tuber yield largely depend on rainfall, even a short period of water deficit can cause a substantial loss of tuber yield (50%) and deterioration of tuber quality [23][24][25][26][27]. In the climatic conditions of Southern Poland, where the total rainfall during the growing season is higher than in the regions where potato is grown in Central Poland, large fluctuations in yields are observed, which are more often caused by rainfall shortages during periods of higher water demand.…”