Journal Review President President-Elect Viee-President Past-President Secretary Treasurer Director Director Director Director David Curwen, Chairman Florian Lauer Elmer Ewing, Chairman Robert Mercer Zosimo Huaman Mary Powelson Gary Beaver David P. Weingartner, Chairman Greg Porter Robert Mercer Ed Lulai Gilbert Banville Gary Secor Florian Lauer, Chairman Shirley Munson Ed Radcliffe Donald A Young Joseph J. Pavek Steven Slack Elmer E. Ewing David Curwen Therese Work T. Richard Tarn Dale Hensel Robert E. Hanneman, Jr. Gene Shaver

Honorary Life Membership President President-Elect Vice-President Past-President Secretary Treasurer Director Director Director Director Director Joseph J. Pavek Steven Slack Ronald E. Voss Donald A. Young David Curwen Therese Work Alvin Mosley Joseph B. Sieczka Robert Hanneman, Jr. David G. Holm Gene Shaver Section Chairs Ex Officio Breeding/Genetics Steve Love Certification Dave Hammond Extension Susan R. Sterrett Pathology Dennis Corsini Physiology Jane Seabrook Utilization Ed Lulai David Curwen, Chairman Ken Knutson Donald A. Young, Chairman Florian I. Lauer Zosimo Huaman Alvin Mosley Joseph B. Sieczka David P. Weingartner, Chairman Greg Porter Robert Mercer Ed Lulai Gilbert Banville Gary Secor Ken Knutson, Co-chairman David Holm, Co-chairman Robert Davidson Gary Franc Monty Harrison Wayne Thompson

Amplified fragment length polymorphism fingerprinting was applied to survey the genetic diversity of primitive South American Gossypium barbadense cotton for establishing a possible link to its pre-Columbian expansion. New germplasm was collected along coastal Peru and over an Andean transect in areas where most of the archaeological evidence relating to cotton domestication has been recorded. Gene bank material of three diploid (G. raimondii, G. arboreum, and G. herbaceum) and four allotetraploid cotton species (G. hirsutum, G. mustelinum, G. tomentosum and additional G. barbadense) was added for inter- and intra-specific comparison. Eight primer combinations yielded 340 polymorphic bands among the 131 accessions. The obtained neighbor joining and unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic means are in full agreement with the known cytogenetics of the tetraploid cottons and their diploid genome donors. The four tetraploid species are clearly distinct based on taxonomic classification. The genetic diversity within G. barbadense reveals geographic patterns. The locally maintained cottons from coastal Peru display a distinct genetic diversity that mirrors their primitive agro-morphological traits. Accessions from the northernmost coast of Peru and from southwestern (SW) Ecuador cluster basal to the east-of-Andes accessions. The remaining accessions from Bolivia, Brazil, Columbia, Venezuela, and the Caribbean and Pacific islands cluster with the east-of-Andes accessions. Northwestern Peru/SW Ecuador (the area flanking the Guayaquil gulf) appears to be the center of the primitive domesticated G. barbadense cotton from where it spread over the Andes and expanded into its pre-Columbian range.

Cultivated potatoes have been classified as species under the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (ICBN) and as cultivar-groups under the International Code of Nomenclature of Cultivated Plants (ICNCP); both classifications are still widely used. This study examines morphological support for the classification of landrace populations of cultivated potatoes, using representatives of all seven species and most subspecies as outlined in the latest taxonomic treatment. These taxa are S. ajanhuiri, S. chaucha, S. curtilobum, S. juzepczukii, S. phureja subsp. phureja, S. stenotomum subsp. stenotomum, S. stenotomum subsp. goniocalyx, S. tuberosum subsp. andigenum, and S. tuberosum subsp. tuberosum. The results show some phenetic support for S. ajanhuiri, S. chaucha, S. curtilobum, S. juzepczukii, and S. tuberosum subsp. tuberosum, but little support for the other taxa. Most morphological support is by using a suite of characters, all of which are shared with other taxa (polythetic support). These results, combined with their likely hybrid origins, multiple origins, evolutionary dynamics of continuing hybridization, and our classification philosophy, leads us to recognize all landrace populations of cultivated potatoes as a single species, S. tuberosum, with the eight cultivar-groups: Ajanhuiri Group, Andigenum Group, Chaucha Group, Chilotanum Group, Curtilobum Group, Juzepczukii Group, Phureja Group, and Stenotomum Group. We defer classification of modern cultivars, traditionally classified in Tuberosum Group, to a later study.

Peru contains about half of the described wild potato taxa, and many of these are not yet preserved in genebanks. This paper reports results of the second of a series of five planned collecting expeditions to Peru. Collections were made in the central Peruvian departments of Ancash, Huancavelica, La Libertad, and Lima, from March 8 to April 25,1999. They follow collections in 1998 in the southern Peruvian departments of Apurimac, Arequipa, Cusco, Moquegua, Puno, and Tacna. We collected 101 germplasm accessions, including first germplasm collections of the following 22Solanum taxa:Solanum amayanum, S. anamatophilum, S. arahuayum (lost in germplasm increase),S. augustii, S. bill- hookeri, S. cantense, S. chavinense, S. chomatophilum var. subnivale, S. chrysoflorum, S. gracilifrons, S. hapalos um, S. huarochiriense, S. hypacrarthrum, S.jalcae, S. moniliforme, S. multiinterruptum f. longipilosum, S. multiinterruptum var. machaytambinum, S. peloquinianum, S. rhombilanceolatum, S. simplicissimum, S. taulisense (lost in germplasm increase), andS. wittmackii. In addition, new collections were made of the under-collected speciesS. hastiforme (three collections). The above taxonomy is that used in planning our expedition, that we compare to a new treatment of Peruvian wild potatoes published by C. Ochoa in 1999. This paper reports the collection and new species identifications of the 1999 collections, and germplasm conservation and survival of the 1998 and 1999 collections. In addition, chromosome counts are provided for 134 accessions from the 1998 and 1999 expeditions, including first reports forS. chomatophilum var. subnivale (2n = 2x = 24),S. megistacrolobum subsp.purpureum (2n = 2x = 24), andS. multiinterruptum var.multiinterruptum f.albiflorum (2n = 2x = 24); we also report the first triploid count of an accession ofS. immite.

One of the largest and most diverse clonally propagated potato collections of cultivated potato species is maintained at the International Potato Center (CIP). Almost 75% of this collection is S. tuberosum subsp. andigena (hereafter andigena) cultivars. The first step to select a core collection of this subspecies was to identify duplicate accessions of the same cultivar using comparisons of morphological characters and electrophoretic banding patterns of total proteins and esterases. This reduced the number of accessions in the collection from 10,722 to 2,379. The number of accessions of the same cultivar in the original collection ranged from 1 to 276. This is a report on the selection of a core from the 2,379 morphologically different cultivars using morphological, geographical, and evaluation data. A total of 25 morphological descriptors were scored from all 2,379 andigena cultivars. A phenogram was constructed from these data using a simple matching coefficient and the unweighted pair group method using arithmetic averages. We decided to include in the core a proportional sample consisting of approximately the square root of the number of accessions from each first geographical division (state, department, or province) of countries where andigena was collected. Accessions were chosen first to represent the widest morphological diversity and to maximize geographical representation of the clusters distributed on the main branches of the morphological phenogram. Second, the representative accession of each cluster was also chosen considering data on resistance to diseases and pests, dry matter content, and number of duplicate accessions identified in the original collection. The resulting core has 306 accessions (12.86%) from eight countries from Mexico to Argentina. The full breeding potential of Andean farmerselected potato cultivars that have been maintained for centuries in their center of diversity remains unknown. A thorough evaluation of their reaction to diseases and pests and other desirable traits is now feasible because the selected andigena core set covers the broadest genetic base that is available in ex situ conservation.

The sweet potato genebank at the International Potato Center (CIP) maintains 5,526 cultivated I. batatas accessions from 57 countries. Knowledge of the genetic structure in this collection is essential for rational germplasm conservation and utilization. Sixty-nine sweet potato cultivars from 4 geographical regions (including 13 countries) of Latin America were randomly sampled and fingerprinted using AFLP markers. A total of 210 polymorphic and clearly scorable fragments were generated. A geographic pattern of diversity distribution was revealed by mean similarity, multidimensional scaling (MDS), and analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA). The highest genetic diversity was found in Central America, whereas the lowest was in Peru-Ecuador. The within-region variation was the major source of molecular variance. The between-regions variation, although it only explains 10.0% of the total diversity, is statistically significant. Cultivars from Peru-Ecuador, with the lowest level of within region diversity, made the most significant contribution to the between region differentiation. These results support the hypothesis that Central America is the primary center of diversity and most likely the center of origin of sweet potato. Peru-Ecuador should be considered as a secondary center of sweet potato diversity.

Peru has 103 taxa of wild potatoes (species, subspecies, varieties, and forms) according to Hawkes (1990; modified by us by a reduction of species in theSolanum brevicaule complex) and including taxa described by C. Ochoa since 1989. Sixty-nine of these 103 taxa (67% ) were unavailable from any of the world’s genebanks and 85 of them (83%) had less than three germplasm accessions. We conducted a collaborative Peru (INIA), United States (NRSP-6), and International Potato Center (CIP) wild potato (Solanum sect.Petota) collecting expedition in Peru to collect germplasm and gather taxonomic data. This is the first of a series of planned expeditions from 1998–2002. We collected from February 18 to April 18, 1998, in the southern departments of Apurímac, Arequipa, Cusco, Moquegua, Puno, and Tacna. We made 57 germplasm collections, including 14 taxa that are the first available as germplasm for any country (Solanum aymaraesense, S. chillonanum, S. incasicum, S. megistacrolobum subsp.megistacrolobum f. purpureum, S. longiusculus, S. multiflorum,S. pillahuatense, S. sawyeri, S. sandemanii, S. tacnaense, S. tarapatanum, S. urubambae, S. velardei, S. villuspetalum), and two additional taxa that are the first available for Peru but with germplasm from Bolivia (S. megistacrolobum subsp.toralapanum, S. yungasense). Collections also were made for the rare taxaS. acroscopicum, S. buesii, S. limbaniense, andS. santolallae. Our collections suggest the following minimum synonymy may be needed for Peruvian potatoes:S. sawyeri as a synonym ofS. tuberosum;S. hawkesii andS. incasicum as synonyms ofS. raphanifolium;S. multiflorum andS. villuspetalum as synonyms ofS. urubambae.

The potato crop originated in the Andean highlands where numerous farmer's varieties and non-cultivated wild species exist. An Andean potato collection is held in trust at the International Potato Center (CIP) to preserve the biodiversity of this crop and ensure the supply of germplasm for potato improvement worldwide. A core collection representing the biodiversity of the Andean potato germplasm is under construction using morphological, molecular, and geographic data. One of the eight cultivated potato species, Solanum phureja, has been genotyped using the RAPD technique. A protocol suitable for large germplasm collection genotyping has been developed to process numerous samples at reasonable costs. From 106 RAPD primers evaluated, we have selected 12 primers yielding 102 polymorphic markers, which unambiguously discriminated all 128 accessions but 2 that are possible duplicates. The S. phureja germplasm collected throughout the Andean countries appears to have a homogeneous genetic constitution. There was no clear geographic pattern as indicated by cluster analysis of the RAPD data. A sub-group of 20 accessions has been identified on the basis of the marker data and selected to maximize molecular (RAPD) variance and polymorphism. The probability of capturing equal amounts of marker polymorphism in this sub-group of 20 accessions by random sampling is less than 40%. This set accessions represents our first group of accessions that may constitute a core of the S. phureja collection. This tentative core will be challenged for diversity content by alternate markers and agronomic traits. Hence, the methodology for sampling less than 10% of the base collection, proposed for core collections by Brown (1989), can be based on molecular marker data provided cost-efficient fingerprints are developed.

Potatoes account for about half of the world's annual output of all roots and tubers, and since the early 1960s, the increase in area planted in developing countries has been higher than for any other major food crop. Annual world production currently totals 274 million tons on 18 million hectares, with China and India accounting for 22 percent of this total. In less than a generation, most of the world's potatoes will be harvested in Asia. Africa, or Latin America, where the potato is becoming an increasingly important source of food and its cultivation provides rural employment and income for the growing population. The rapid emergence of processing facilities for the fast food industry, and the indirect influence of improved rice and wheat irrigation systems have also contributed to the expansion of potato production in Asia. The demand is strongest for processing quality potatoes that supply the fast food chains in large urban concentrations where processed potato products fetch top prices. Such increasing demand is putting strong pressure on national and international breeding institutions to produce high quality processing varieties well adapted to the wide array of agro-ecological conditions, in South East Asia in particular. The lack of adequate seed systems in this region is the single most important impediment to the expansion of the cultivation of the crop. Unfavourable agro-ecological conditions interfere with the production of high quality seed in most Asian potato growing areas, and the availability of high quality seed of the right quantity at the right time remains the most consequential bottleneck to efficient potato production. The seed issue is also the principal problem of potato cultivation in the traditional potato growing areas of Central and Eastern Europe. A review of “the development of integrated systems for large scale propagation of elite plants using in vitro techniques” with specific focus on “potato seed production by tissue culture” is therefore very timely. It provides a platform for analysis and discussion of solutions for some of the most common seed problems facing the potato industry in many parts of the word. All efforts to improve the potato crop and to solve the associated seed problems begin with the right choice and use of the available genetic resources. Resistance to certain pests and diseases has a direct bearing on the success of a seed program. Multiple virus resistance, in particular, would ensure a halt to seed degeneration caused by an accumulation of viruses and thus greatly prolong the ability of seed producers and ware potato growing farmers to grow their crops at great economic benefit. This paper will therefore deal with the current status of the World Potato Collection held in trust by the International Potato Center (CIP) in Peru by presenting up-to-date information on its classification, phytosanitary status and availability of the genetic material and its evaluation data to the breeders worldwide.

The island of New Guinea is considered a secondary center on diversity for sweetpotato, because of its range of isolated ecological niches and large number of cultivars found within a small area. Information of genetic diversity in Papua New Guinea (PNG) sweetpotato is essential for rationalizing the global sweetpotato germplasm collection. Using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD), we compared the genetic variation and genetic diversity in 18 PNG cultivars versus 18 cultivars from South America. The analysis of molecular variance revealed large genetic diversity in both groups of cultivars. The within-group (among individuals) variation accounted for 90.6% of the total molecular variance. However, the difference between PNG and South American groups is statistically significant, although it explained only 9.4% of the total molecular variance. The PNG cultivars are also less divergent than their South American ancestors as the mean genetic distance in PNG group is significantly smaller than that of South American group. The lower level of genetic diversity in PNG cultivars was also reflected by multidimensional scaling. This study shows that PNG cultivars, after many years of isolated evolution in an unique agro-ecological environment are substantially divergent from their ancestors in South America. The genetic diversity level in PNG cultivars is significantly lower than that in South American cultivars. It thus provides a baseline for continuing studies of genetic diversity in different sweetpotato gene pools.

The last decade has seen growing awareness of the value of germplasm conservation.In vitro maintenance of germplasm can offer many advantages as a complement to field maintenance. The International Potato Center (CIP) has actively researched a wide range of methods for effectivein vitro maintenance in its large potato germplasm collection. This review describes the methodology applied by CIP and discusses new research now being undertaken to study the genetic stability of these storage methods.