Potatoes are the world's most popular vegetable, produce the most food per acre, and have the best balance - of any plant - of the eight amino acids needed by humans. The U of M breeding program uses wild sources from the Andes of Peru and Chile to improve disease resistance, and tolerance to cold, heat and drought.
Minnesota is at the center of U.S. potato
production. The industry has three main segments: fresh
market, seed, and processing for chips, fries, and dehydrated
foods. Minnesota, North Dakota, Michigan, and Wisconsin are
big in all three. The region produces almost a third of all
potatoes grown in the country, supports a huge processing
industry that adds about $500 million a year to Minnesota's
economy, and grows almost half of the seed potatoes used in
the U.S. The country's largest potato farming operation is in
Minnesota.
U of M plant scientists have been improving
potatoes since 1919. Today, researchers from horticulture,
entomology, plant pathology, and soil science team up to
improve yield, pest resistance, and quality. Culinary,
storability, and nutritional traits are also emphasized, such
as flavinoids that reduce risk of prostate cancer and optic
impairments. Graduate students learn by working on these
interdisciplinary projects, and help solve multiple problems
simultaneously.
While an ideal food, the potato plant is
susceptible to more than its share of diseases - blight,
viruses, wilt, scab - and the foliage is a delicacy for
insects. For example, besides causing direct damage, aphids
quickly spread plant diseases from field to field. A high
intensity research effort is now under way to control late
blight and two viruses that have reached epidemic
proportions, reducing Minnesota's seed potato business by 40
percent in the last five years. The problem is complex, and
investigators seek answers that will reduce the need for
chemical inputs.
Potatoes are grown in three areas of Minnesota: under irrigation on the sandy soils from Elk River to Park Rapids, on the rich soils of the Red River Valley from Fergus Falls north to Canada, and on peat soils near Albert Lea.
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Researchers have aphid traps on the borders of potato fields throughout Minnesota. If and when counts reach
the threshold of causing economic damage, producers are
alerted and take control measures. Upper left, reseachers
harvest field plots at Morris.
U of M potato breeders evaluate: - Yield
- Size
- Processing Quality
- Maturity date
- Baked flavor
- Skin color
- Disease resistance
- Eyes, skin texture
- Shape
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Forage Legumes
