Agronomic performance of potato interspecific hybrids
Eduardo de Souza Lambert and César Augusto Brasil Pereira Pinto
Hybrids from crosses among potato cultivars (Solanum tuberosum L.) and S. tuberosum ssp. andigena, S. chacoense and S. phureja clones were assessed. Hybrid families with different proportions of exotic species genome (50, 25, and 12.5%) were compared with families derived from the cross only among S. tuberosum cultivars. Three experiments in two locations were carried out in southern Minas Gerais State, one in an augmented block design and the other two in lattice designs to assess the families and clones. The families with higher percentages of exotic species genome presented lower tuber yield, lower percentage of large tubers and lower average tuber weight. The main limitation of some hybrids was tuber appearance, and there was a high frequency of clones with undesirable tuber appearance. Clones derived from different genomic compositions could be selected with high yield, good percentage of large tubers, high tuber specific gravity and good tuber appearance.