1Central Potato Research Institute, Shimla-171 001, Himachal Pradesh, India E-mail: rkrana@icar.org.in
2CIP-SWCA, NASC Complex, New Delhi-110 012, India
3Jain Irrigation Systems Ltd., Jalgaon-425 001, Maharashtra, India
4CIP-CAC, Murtazaeva Str. 6, 700000 Tashkent, Uzbekistan
5Potato Research Station, Deesa, Banaskantha-385 535, Gujarat, India
Online published on 23 December, 2011.
Present study attempted to understand farmers’ perception on attributes they want in future potato varieties in heat-prone areas. For better understanding, priority index (PI; range 0 to 100) and per cent relative importance (RI) of desirable attributes were calculated. Potato farmers’ response on yield enhancing attributes, desirable/undesirable varietal characters, abandonment of varieties, heat/drought stress, and priorities on attributes in future potato varieties were collected and analysed. Heat tolerance (PI=92; RI=22.5%) followed by high yield (PI=72; RI=17.5%), late blight resistance (PI=48.5; RI=12%), potato-tuber-moth resistance (PI=39; RI=9.5%) and large sized uniform tubers (PI=36; RI=9%) were the top five desirable characteristics. The other attributes in this sequence were drought tolerance, processing quality, early maturity, shining skin and good storability. Heterogeneity of responses on various factors/attributes related to potato within farm categories was studied using Chi-square statistics.
heat-tolerant potato varieties, varietal attributes, farmers’ perception, abandonment of varieties
