Characterization and Evaluation of Potato Genotypes (Solanum tuberosum L) for Tolerance to Drought in Uganda
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Date
2016
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
American Journal of Potato Research
Abstract
Potato production in Uganda is being affected by
rainfall fluctuations in both timing and amount, resulting into
inadequate soil moisture availability and low productivity.
Also, potato production is expanding into locations at lower
altitudes, where drought is more common. Therefore, drought
stress mitigation measures and coping mechanisms need to be
devised to face future challenges of climate change, particularly
in developing countries to ensure steady supply of adequate
quantities of quality food. This study thus, aimed at
characterizing new potato clones from CIP (International
Potato Center) for tolerance to drought under Ugandan conditions.
Consequently a screen house experiment was conducted
twice at Kachwekano Zonal Agricultural Research and
Development Institute (KAZARDI) from October 2011 to
February 2012 and April to July 2012 to evaluate and characterize
eight potato genotypes; five of which were obtained
from CIP’s breeding collection for drought tolerance and
low altitude areas, and three locally released varieties from
Uganda. These clones were tested for drought tolerance at
three levels of simulated moisture deficit; 25 % field capacity,
50 % and 100 % field capacity (FC). Data were collected on
leaf chlorophyll content, relative leaf water content, number of
days to 50 % flowering, percent ground cover, leaf area, plant
height, number of stems per plant, stem diameter, stress score,
increment in plant height after imposing stress, tuber dry matter
content and yield components. Of all the traits evaluated,
yield and number of days to 50 % flowering contributed most
to drought tolerance among the potato genotypes evaluated.
There were significant (P ≤ 0.05) differences among genotypes
for all evaluated traits. Results from both growth, physiological
and yield parameters revealed that the new potato
clones were less affected by drought stress compared to
adapted varieties. Total tuber yield was 23 tons per hectare,
11.4 and 8.1 in plots at full field capacity, 50 % and 25 %
moisture stressed plots respectively in the first experiment. A
similar trend was obtained in the second experiment with 19
tons per hectare, 13.7 and 11.3 respectively. The new clones at
highest moisture stress had significantly (P ≤ 0.05) higher
yields than adapted varieties providing a promise for possible
new varieties and breeding stock in extreme conditions of
moisture deficit.
Description
Keywords
Simulated drought stress, Watering regime and moisture deficit
Citation
Kesiime, VE, Tusiime, G., Kashaija, IN, Edema, R., Gibson, P., Namugga, P., & Kakuhenzire, R. (2016). Characterization and evaluation of potato genotypes (Solanum tuberosum L) for tolerance to drought in Uganda. American Journal of Potato Research , 93 (6), 543-551. DOI 10.1007/s12230-016-9533-5