Potato Seed Systems

Abstract

Good quality seed is almost universally considered a requirement for high productivity in all potato production systems. Much of the yield gap currently constraining productivity in low-income countries is attributed to the poor quality of seed. Potato seed sector development is thus a major concern of governments, researchers, development agencies, and civil society organizations. Potato seed systems are often characterized as formal or informal, although the informal seed system is complex and particularly in low income countries there are many linkages between the two systems. Informal seed potato systems in the Andes have existed for centuries, and for a number of reasons often produce seed of relatively high quality. In other low-income countries, informal systems produce seed of variable and frequently poor quality, contributing to very large yield gaps, characteristic of those areas. In regions of high potato productivity (e.g., the USA and Europe), formal systems, with seed of certified high quality, are dominant, although some productions subsectors (e.g., organic producers) often use seed that is not certified. Efforts to implement formal seed systems in low-income countries have been largely unsuccessful; consequently the vast majority of low-resource potato farmers source their seed via the informal system. Sectors of the development community

Challenges and Prospects for the Conservation of Crop Genetic Resources in Field Genebanks, in In Vitro Collections and/or in Liquid Nitrogen

“…[17]. To increase the productivity and, hence, farmer's incomes in Africa, Asia and Latin America, CIP and partners developed training guides for the positive selection of propagules of landraces that have no visible symptoms of diseases or abiotic stress [18]. By comparison, at IPK (Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research), in addition to 3300 landraces, also 2900 wild potato accessions are maintained as orthodox seeds.…”

Use of Quality Potato Seeds in Family Farming Systems in the Highlands Zones of Peru

“…Various actors from public and private institutions, producer organizations, plant breeders, service providers, technical assistants, agricultural innovation centers and universities participate in both systems; likewise, commercial potato and seed producers and Use of Quality Potato Seeds in Family Farming Systems in the Highlands Zones of Peru DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.99397 traders. Seed inspectors also participate in the certification, supervision, marketing and distribution of seeds [3,20,15].…”

“…The coexistence of informal and formal systems is unavoidable and possibly the same actors participate in both systems; however, each has its own characteristics. Formal systems produce and use generally modern certified seed from conventional production systems (Figure 1); it typically works for a limited sector of farmers [3,21]. In contrast, informal potato seed systems use native seeds or so-called local, artisanal or personal seeds, with a natural dynamic such as the exchange of seeds that dates back several centuries and, for various reasons, often produces quality seeds.…”

“…In informal sector seed production systems, perceptions of seed quality differ from those of formal system farmers; while farmers who use their own seed rate their seeds as good, bad or fair, farmers with formal systems trust some certifying body that guarantees the quality of the seeds [3,15]. Farmers in the high Andean areas associate quality through color, shape, size and the presence or absence of deformations in the tubers [16,27].…”

“…Peru is considered to be a center of origin and diversity of edible food species, and among them the potato (Solanum tuberosum L), a crop initially domesticated in the northern area of Lake Titicaca where among wild species the first cultivated forms were selected 7,000-10,000 years AD [1][2][3][4]. According to the International Potato Center (CIP), in Peru there can be found nine cultivated species of potatoes that originate from wild species of the group with S. candolleanum as a potential ancestor [5].…”