Adaptability of Exotic Potato Germplasm in North-Western Hills of India

Late blight resistance and high tuber yield are the two major requirements of potato crop in North-western hills of India. Adaptability of 176 exotic germplasm accessions from 18 countries was studied under these conditions for 2–4 years against Kufri Jyoti, the most popular variety of the region. Most of the accessions were inferior or at par with Kufri Jyoti for one or the other character. There was no relationship between resistance to late blight and performance for tuber yield and its components. Ten accessions were resistant to late blight, 41 moderately resistant and the remaining were found susceptible. Eight accessions were identified as promising being resistant or moderately resistant to late blight and having high tuber yield with acceptable tuber size, shape, eye depth. Strategies for exploiting the various accessions in potato breeding programmes are discussed.