Quality attributes of Indian potatoes for export: Priorities and possibilities*

No doubt that the conditions under which potato is grown in sub-tropical agro-climates is exactly the opposite to that of the temperate countries. The European countries still dominate the seed potato markets in developing world, especially in South Asia. However, India has the potential to emerge as a major potato exporter at least in the neighbouring countries. Due to physiological and geographical advantages, Indian potato varieties, bred predominantly for short-day Indian agro-climatic conditions, are more adaptive than the European ones for use as seeds in our neighbouring countries. Besides, due to socio-cultural integrity, Indian table potatoes enjoy a high degree of consumer preference in these neighbouring countries. With rising incomes and urbanization following liberalization, it is expected that potatoes will be increasingly processed prior to consumption due to increased diversification of food habits. Recently, the Central Potato Research Institute has released two processing varieties, viz. Kufri Chipsona-1 and Kufri Chipsona-2, which can leave behind the European potato varieties for diverse processing purpose. In spite of these advantages, quality potato improvement is the need of the hour for extending export possibilities in more sophisticated markets in Europe and America. Major quality attributes of all forms of potato products from raw potatoes to value-added processed items are discussed in this paper. Conventional breeding in combination with present-day genetic engineering can be exploited for quality improvement utilizing diverse gene base from Solanum tuberosum ssp. andigena and other tuber-bearing related Solanum species.