The identification of outstanding potato cultivars using multivariate methods

Abstract

The evaluation and selection of potato (Solanum tuberosum) cultivars for commercial production in the high valleys of Mexico are important for plant breeding, seed production, and the generation of technology. In this work, ten potato cultivars from five different environments in Mexico were evaluated to determine the proportion of genetic variation contained within each. The potatoes were sown in a completely randomized complete block design. Heritability was determined to be between 53% and 83%, suggesting that there is genetic variability among the potato cultivars that might be agronomically important. According to the additive main effects and multiplicative interaction (AMMI) model, the highest tuber yields were obtained at the locality named "Raíces" in the 2004 and 2005 growing seasons. In those production seasons, the best cultivars that positively correlated with each locality were 779040, 776943, Alpha, and Gigant with yields of 21.18, 21.97, 23.57, and 25.04 tha-1, respectively. The main components and cluster analyses classified the potato cultivars into three groups. Group 1 included cultivars 777091, Zafiro, Atlantic, and 7718335, each having low yields. Group 2 included cultivars 676002, 779040, 750660, 776943, and Alpha; each had yields that were higher than the general mean, but lower than the Gigant cultivar (Group 3). The Gigant cultivar had the highest tuber yield as well as the highest mean tuber weight per plant, the largest tuber diameter, and tallest tuber lenght.