In search of a new potato

Some scientists work in the field to make more efficient pesticides and more efficient herbicides. Chefs experiment in the kitchen with new recipes to update classic potato dishes. Vidyasagar 'Sagar' Sathuvalli, Ph.D. works to create a new potato.

Dr. Sathuvalli is an assistant professor of potato breeding and genetics at Oregon State University. In 2004 he moved from India, where he grew up and earned his B.S. in horticulture at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, to begin the genetics and breeding master's program at OSU. He continued study there through 2011, earning his masters and Ph.D. He began working at the in 2013.

"My main responsibility is to make new industry," Sathuvalli said. His research focuses on potato breeding and germ plasm improvement using traditional, molecular and genomic tools. His program aims to develop potato varieties with naturally developed stress tolerances, increased nutrient value and processing quality.

Stresses for potatoes include common pests like tuber moth, and diseases including blight. Processing quality includes a longer shelf life and an appealing look, Sathuvalli said.

In his 10 years with the University, he has worked with teams of allies of the potato industry and they have introduced two new potato varieties, the Yukon Nugget and the Perrarosa.

The Yukon Nugget was released in 2012. It is like a classic Yukon that features an "attractive pink eye," Sathuvalli said.

New varieties are under exclusive licensing rights to the Potato Variety Management Institute (PVMI), Sathuvalli said. According to PVMI.org, the Yukon Nuggets are smaller than the well-known Yukon Gold, but have more even size distribution.

The Perrarosa will be released soon to the tri-state growers and features red skin and red flesh. Sathuvalli said growers can expect several round shaped tubers from the plant, resistant to common scab and blight, and good for boiling and baking.

Tri-state growers include those in Oregon, Washington and Idaho.

The growing process begins in Klamath Falls, Ore., where one hundred thousand seeds are germinated by cross pollinating plants with desired characteristics. Seeds are formed by cross germinating two breeds; one male, one female. The seeds are planted in Hermiston, Ore.

Sathuvalli said germination rates generally yield 70 to 60 percent of initial planting. Of those six to seven hundred thousand plants, one percent is picked to grow for the next decade in several locations around Oregon.

Desirable plants are chosen by those invested in the tri-state potato industry, including potato growers and producers. Potential investors actually visit the field, walking through and pick the best specimens with their eyes and hands. It gives the investors a chance to really be involved in the process, Sathuvalli said, and choose exactly what they want.

After initial seeding, potato plants are sprouted by replanting tubers of the original generation.

These 600,000 healthiest and tastiest plants are picked down to 60,000, down to 600, to 20. These 20 plants are then test grown in the tri-state area, and eventually grown in the Western region, including Colorado, Texas and California. The crop is further reduced until, "if any," a single plant strain is chosen to become a new variety, Sathuvalli said.

By growing in different locations, developers are able to see which region a variety grows best in, and ensures crop success for investors.

A variety takes 10 to 14 years to produce.

Sathuvalli said 40 percent of his research goes towards new russet potatoes for the fresh market; 40 percent towards processing industry potatoes; 10 percent to chipper varieties; 10 percent to baby and fingerling varieties.

He said all of his research uses natural methods of selection, rather than genetically modifying varieties. However, he said it is an exciting time in the field, as technology makes it possible for scientists to identify the nuclear markers that appear in pest and disease resistant varieties. He can follow genome sequencing and phenotyping with the new equipment in record time.

"It is exciting to get more and more data in less time," he said.

He said the equipment makes available information that helps make selections in new varieties.

At this point, unlike corn and soy, the potato industry has not shown much interest in genetically modified potato varieties, Sathuvalli said. He said his program does not, therefore, focus on that, because the industry funds his work, and he does what his party wants.

"All our work is natural, the only thing we use molecular data for is to track markers that show resistant patterns for resistant progeny," he said.

"Interaction with future breeding is more like a party," Sathuvalli said. He said along with the scientific data, it is an interactive experience with area growers and producers, who have the opportunity to visit the test crops and choose the visibly healthiest plants.

"They are stake holders, anticipating the future part of the plant breeding," he said.

"In the future, if the industry wants transgenetics... if the industry needs it, they will let me know," he said.

Sathuvalli is especially concerned with the needs of the industry since it is through the growers and producers that his program gets his funding.

"Without the support of the industry, we couldn't do it," he said, "we can't do it without continuous support." Sathuvalli said with their methods of natural selection, 10 years will pass until results are seen. This kind of research is not the kind that can drop off and pick up again a few years later, he said.

Sathuvalli said he thinks genetically sequencing and new variety breeding will be a substantial part of solving the world's hunger and food safety problems.

Potatoes have a high return in terms of calories to nitrogen input in the soil. Sathuvalli said with potatoes, for every 100 tons of nitrogen put in the soil, 200-300 tons of food is harvested. With rice or wheat, for every 100 tons of nitrogen you put in the soil, approximately 80 tons of food is harvested.

Dr. Sathuvalli will be presenting 'The Future of Potato Breeding - The Perspective of One New to the Industry' at the 2014 Washington-Oregon Potato Conference at 8:50 a.m. Wednesday January 29.