Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada scientists in Atlantic Canada are looking to develop a new breed of potato that is better adapted to the changing growing conditions brought on by climate change. Bourlaye Fofana, a research scientist at AAFC, is shown in an undated handout photo. Fofana leads a team in Charlottetown that has examined wild potato varieties that are native to the South American Andes and show potential to help develop a more drought-resistant potato. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, *MANDATORY CREDIT*
CHARLOTTETOWN - Federal scientists in Atlantic Canada are working to create a new breed of potato that can better withstand the growing conditions caused by climate change.
Bourlaye Fofana, a research scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, is leading a team in Charlottetown to investigate wild potato varieties from the Andes in South America. These wild potatoes show promise for developing more drought-resistant potatoes suitable for North American markets.
According to the Agriculture Department, there are over 5,000 potato varieties globally. However, the genetic diversity among many of these has decreased, making some varieties less resilient to diseases and climate change.
"We see a lot of problems because genetic diversity among these cultivated commercial varieties is quite narrow," Fofana said. "With climate change and heat waves, this lack of genetic diversity could be a big problem in the future."
Most commercial potato varieties are tetraploid, meaning they have four sets of chromosomes, with two sets inherited from each parent. Fofana has been working with diploid wild potatoes from Peru, which have two sets of chromosomes. He explained that this chromosomal difference makes the wild potatoes easier to work with in the lab.
"It's easier to find genetic markers; so, if you find your marker in diploids, it can be used in a tetraploid," he said.
Although wild potatoes are smaller than commercial varieties, they look similar. "I have been working on diploids since 2014, and we are getting clones that are viable in terms of yield, tuber size, and quality," Fofana said. "We know, for example, the starch content is quite good, and the processing quality is quite good."
Fofana's team, along with researchers in Kentville, N.S., and a researcher in Chile, has evaluated 384 diploid potato clones for drought tolerance and plant maturity. Out of these, 127 were found to be late-maturing and drought-tolerant, while nine were early to moderate-late maturing and drought-tolerant.
Fofana expressed his enthusiasm about the research findings. "Because in our collection we have diploid potatoes that are early maturing, this means you can plant them and get an expected yield as early as possible," he said. "We also have some clones that can grow over a longer period."
The research by Fofana and his team is a significant scientific step. About 50 of the most promising clones are being sent to the department’s breeding program in Fredericton for further study.
At the Fredericton facility, the potato clones will be assessed for size, shape, yield potential, and cooking and processing traits. Following these evaluations, they could be released as new potato varieties, or their seeds, plants, or parts may be used in further potato breeding.
Fofana highlighted the increasing importance of building crop resilience as conditions become drier and hotter, even in traditionally favorable growing regions like Atlantic Canada.
"With climate change, the frequency of drought is increasing, especially where water resources are limited," said Fofana. "So we need to be proactive and see how we can adapt our crop and cropping system to meet these new challenges."
