16 POTATO GROWER | MARCH 2018
PHITICIDE, SPROUT-STOP and the DREXEL logo are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Drexel Chemical
Company. Always read and follow label instructions on the product container(s) before using. POTGRMAG6-0118
Making the Grade
~Since 1972~
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Chlorothalonil 720
Fungicide
Sprout-Stop
®
Liquid Growth Retardant
Phiticide
™
Fungicide
For additional information please visit
DrexChem.com
171824DreChe12v.indd 1 1/25/18 3:52 PM
SOLANUM TUBEROSUM
Finally, my list of favorite potato species must include Solanum tuberosum, the cultivated
potato found in the Northern Hemisphere. While these potato varieties are tetraploid
(four sets of chromosomes), I have spent most of my career working with diploid (two
chromosome sets) forms, which we call dihaploids. When we pollinate tetraploid potato
varieties with a special Phureja plant, we can produce diploid plants. Most wild potatoes,
including all listed above, are diploid, so the dihaploids can be crossed to most wild
species. We can then carry out genetics studies more efficiently than with tetraploids.
We are now exploring the possibility that we can create diploid potato varieties. Toward
this goal, we are extracting dihaploids from potato cultivars. Basically, we need to
repackage the good genes from cultivars in a collection of dihaploid. We can then use
these dihaploids as the foundation for our diploid potato variety breeding effort.
