1. Integrated Control of Late Blight
2. Integrated Control of Bacterial Wilt
3. Control of Potato Viruses
4. Integrated Management of Potato Pests
5. Propagation of Clonal Potato Planting Materials
6. Sexual Potato Propagation (TPS)
7. Global Sector Commodity Analysis and Impact Assessment for Potato
8. Control of Sweetpotato Viruses
9. Integrated Management of Sweetpotato Pests
10. Postharvest Utilization of Sweetpotato
11. Breeding Sweetpotato for High Dry Matter Yield and Adaptation
12. Global Sector Commodity Analysis and Impact Assessment for Sweetpotato
13. Sustainability of Rice-Based Cropping Systems Featuring Potato As a Cash   Crop
14. Sustainable Land Use in the Andes
15. Conservation and Characterization of Potato Genetic Resources
16. Conservation and Characterization of Sweetpotato Genetic Resources
17. Conservation and Characterization of Andean Root and Tuber Crops

 

Integrated Control of Late Blight
This project represents CIP’s highest priority at the moment and is highly focused on developing, adapting, and integrating technologies for the management of the world’s worst agricultural crop disease. The project integrates biotechnological tools for pathogen epidemiology and developing disease resistance with disease management and control in farmers’ fields through the Farmer Field School concept.

This project represents CIP’s highest priority at the moment and is highly focused on developing, adapting, and integrating technologies for the management of the world’s worst agricultural crop disease. The project integrates biotechnological tools for pathogen epidemiology and developing disease resistance with disease management and control in farmers’ fields through the Farmer Field School concept.
Strategic research is conducted to develop, adapt, and integrate technologies for the management of late blight (LB) caused by Phytophthora infestans, the most devastating potato disease worldwide. CIP uses a range of methods, including the most advanced biotechnological tools available, to produce breeding populations and advanced clones with durable resistance to LB. Additional component technologies are being developed for disease management under the conditions encountered by resource-poor farmers in developing countries. Integrated disease management methods are being designed and implemented through collaboration with national research systems, governmental and non-governmental extension agencies, and farmers.

Integrated Control of Bacterial Wilt
Bacterial wilt (BW) is the second worst potato disease in the world. As resistance is difficult to develop and maintain, CIP’s program concentrates on understanding and diagnosing the presence of bacteria in soil and tubers. This is used to improve site management, seed systems, and utilization of available resistant material. Decreased transmission of the disease is a key target in control.

Bacterial wilt (BW) is the second worst potato disease in the world. As resistance is difficult to develop and maintain, CIP’s program concentrates on understanding and diagnosing the presence of bacteria in soil and tubers. This is used to improve site management, seed systems, and utilization of available resistant material. Decreased transmission of the disease is a key target in control.
Bacterial wilt, caused by Pseudomonas solanacearum, is second only to late blight as the most limiting phytopathological factor to potato production in the developing world. In recent years, BW has also spread to temperate countries, such as the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, where it may threaten potato production. This project is aimed at documenting known integrated control practices used by farmers (rotation, sanitation, seed selection, etc.) in selected potato-producing countries where BW is a severe constraint, and subsequently verifying them in yield trials. It also aims to complete the selection of potato progenies with tolerance of BW developed in past years, to promote integrated management of BW through a better understanding of disease transmission and control in different production systems and the use of resistant potato varieties.

Control of Potato Viruses
Viruses cause serious losses in potato and impede movement of seed and genetic resources. The project concentrates on sensitive, low-cost detection and epidemiological factors affecting spread. Genetic engineering is used to identify, clone, and transfer genes of related species to potato for resistance; this is combined with traditional methods of breeding for maximum efficiency in incorporating resistance to a range of viruses.
This project is working toward identifying and characterizing the most important viruses and virus-like agents that affect potato, an essential step for developing diagnostic tools. It aims to develop sensitive, low-cost methods for large-scale detection and to identify genes that confer resistance to the main viruses, using them to develop adapted resistant cultivars. Standard breeding tools as well as the most advanced molecular techniques available are being utilized. CIP researchers also study epidemiological factors that affect virus spread, with particular attention to interaction between viruses and other pathogens that may affect plant resistance response; and train national scientists in virus identification, detection, and control techniques. Research and training activities focus on the most important potato viruses (PLRV, PVY, and PVX), and the potato spindle tuber viroid (PSTVd). Particular attention is given to practical utilization/adoption of virus-resistant materials already produced at CIP (including genotypes already carrying combined resistance to more than one virus, preferably in multiplex condition).

Integrated Management of Potato Pests
Key pests are potato tuber moth (a rapidly growing threat), Andean potato weevil, leaf-miner flies, and whiteflies. The project objective is to combine management practices into locally adapted packages to reduce chemical pesticide use and increase overall benefits for farmers. Components include biological, cultural, and resistance aspects of control.
The project seeks to develop prototypes of Integrated Pest Management programs for the management of the key potato insect pests, emphasizing sustainable, ecologically-based, and economically sound practices that will lead to the reduced use of chemical pesticides. The key pests of global or regional importance are three species of potato tuber moths, several species of Andean potato weevils, one species of leaf-miner fly, and several species of flea beetles. Nematode species that reduce potato yields and favor the development of bacterial wilt pathogens are potato cyst, rosary, and root-knot nematodes.

Propagation of Clonal Potato Planting Materials
Increasing efficiency and effectiveness of both informal and formal seed systems is the target of this project. Varietal introduction and diffusion is dependent on the informal system, but it must be linked with the formal system and it must emphasize high planting material. The project accomplishes this with farmer training and establishment of pilot seed systems.
In many countries, the lack of efficient formal and informal seed potato systems has limited the diffusion of new and improved varieties by providing only limited amounts of healthy clonal planting material. This project provides research and technical assistance to selected formal and informal seed systems in different countries to help improve their efficiency and effectiveness. The project also explores innovations in linkages between formal and informal seed systems, aiming to speed varietal introduction and diffusion.

Sexual Potato Propagation (TPS)
True Potato Seed (TPS) has growing potential in specific areas of the world where the more traditional production systems fail. CIP concentrates on the researchable areas of improving parental performance in hybrids and in certain constraints (late blight resistance, earliness, seed set, etc.). Backstopping is being done by local organizations (private sector, NGOs, and NARs) in efforts to commercialize TPS systems and thus underpin the developing small industries.
This project aims to increase the efficiency (lower the cost of production and increase yields) of the potato crop and to expand potato cultivation in nontraditional areas through the transfer of TPS technology in tropical and subtropical areas, where lack of seed tubers is the principal factor limiting production. It seeks to develop TPS parents for high seed and tuber quality, and reproductive techniques for TPS production.

Global Sector Commodity Analysis and Impact Assessment for Potato
The lack of consistent and reliable statistics covering the agronomic, economic, social, and environmental aspects of new and improved technologies in potato decreases the ability to document effectiveness and guide investment. This project is providing that information and determining rates of returns on CIP research. Price and production databases are established for constant reference and priority setting. Commodity analysis is improving domestic potato marketing and international trade prospects for developing countries.
The project aims to quantify the agronomic, economic, social, and environmental effects of improved potato technologies, and to document the rate of return and the poverty-effectiveness of CIP’s research. This includes assessing the level and adequacy of investment in potato crop improvement in developing countries, and assembling and maintaining price and production databases for priority setting. The effects of potato price instability on diverse groups in society, as well as the scope for public-sector interventions and private-sector incentives, are being evaluated. The research seeks to improve domestic potato marketing and international potato trade involving developing countries, and to foment greater awareness among decision-makers in the public and private sector (nationally and internationally) about the potential for and benefits of increased utilization of potatoes.

Control of Sweetpotato Viruses
Although sweetpotato viruses cause significant production losses, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, there is still a lack of research in this area. This project is developing methods of detection and control for the virus complex known as WBV. It also seeks resistance to this virus complex.
In all regions, sweetpotato virus diseases greatly reduce yields. Control can be achieved through the production of healthy planting materials and the development of resistant cultivars. Toward this end, identification of viruses and development of sensitive methods of detection are fundamental. Previous work has shown a synergy between sweetpotato feathery mottle virus (SPFMV) and a virus transmitted by whiteflies (WBV) that can devastate crops (SP virus disease complex, SPVD). Therefore, the use of virus-free planting materials alone can triple yields. The project aims to better identify WBV, develop methods of detection, and apply methods of control. Researchers seek to develop resistance to WBV using a range of breeding approaches, including the most advanced molecular methods available.

Integrated Management of Sweetpotato Pests
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) for sweetpotato depends on good knowledge of the biology and incidence of the target pests. IPM components are then developed and evaluate against site-specific ecological, economical, and social factors. Pilot units and Farmer Field Schools are used as the mechanisms for testing and implementing IPM components.
The overall objective is to develop IPM for sweetpotato. These programs strive for compatibility with other crop management practices as well as farmer’s socioeconomic conditions to assure effective and economical solutions that reduce pesticide use. Achieving this goal requires a sound knowledge base developed through the study of the biology and seasonal occurrence of key pests; the establishment of IPM components (control measures); the evaluation of these measures’ compatibility with the ecological, economic, and social factors prevailing in representative agroecosystems; the implementation of IPM (leading to integrated crop management, ICM) in Pilot Units in farmers fields, using a participatory approach; and the development of strategies for diffusing IPM through collaborative work with governmental and non-governmental organizations. This includes training activities and the production of IPM diffusion materials.

Postharvest Utilization of Sweetpotato
The project studies a range of technologies and technology adoption to improve the sustainable livelihoods of rural poor through diversification and expansion of sweetpotato use. In the various countries, the main beneficiaries are women and children and small households. Nutrition and income are improved and poverty is reduced.
Achieving project goals includes developing small-enterprise based on added-value from primary processing (e.g., starch and flour), and more efficient use of sweetpotato roots, vines, and by-products as animal feed. In Africa, the goal is to enhance food security by taking advantage of sweetpotato’s nutritional qualities. The project conducts careful evaluation of opportunities and collaborative research on markets, raw-material quality, process development, product quality, and the social acceptability of innovation in pilot enterprises. Toward this end, CIP taps resources such as the NARS, NGOs, and users in target countries, along with global centers of research excellence in disciplines not available in-house, such as food science/technology and animal sciences. Project activities are closely integrated with the CIP project on sweetpotato breeding for dry-matter yield and adaptation, and with CIAT and IITA root crop projects, where relevant.

Breeding Sweetpotato for High Dry Matter Yield and Adaptation
The project provides the raw material for increase in both fresh and processed use of sweetpotato. Dry matter, the essential component in both types of use, has been increased, and genetic material made available. The new clones are being adapted to low-input subsistence systems in targeted environments to feed into the developing markets.
This new project aims at improving sweetpotato production and utilization through the development and adoption of high dry matter/starch varieties with adaptability to low-input, subsistence farming systems. The diverse sweetpotato germplasm at CIP is used to generate high–dry matter parental clones through population breeding. A well-established, decentralized breeding framework uses these advanced parental clones to produce new varieties with a broader genetic background and good adaptability to cope with abiotic and biotic stresses in targeted environments. Molecular approaches are applied to develop, expand, and efficiently use the genetic variations in order to meet breeding needs. Project activities are closely linked with CIP projects on sweetpotato germplasm management and postharvest utilization.

Global Sector Commodity Analysis and Impact Assessment for Sweetpotato
Commodity analysis and impact assessment data are difficult to locate, and to generate. This project is providing much needed information through country case studies, local and regional literature, and data to develop the analyses necessary to study constraints as well as the potential for developing country production and postharvest sweetpotato systems.
This project reviews secondary data and generates primary data to analyze important sweetpotato production/postharvest systems. Toward this end, the project documents the impact of specific production and postharvest technologies, continuing to assemble and maintain production, price, and utilization databases. Researchers will evaluate future production and utilization trend projections and participate with FAO and IFPRI in their collaborative preparation.

Sustainability of Rice-Based Cropping Systems Featuring Potato As a Cash Crop
The assessment of opportunity for potato to fit into the cool dry season cropping systems following rice in the rainy season has been completed. Potential is good to increase the efficiency of this cropping ecology through the addition of potato. Current work concentrates on diagnosing the constraints to and increasing the productivity of the full potato-rice–based system. Ecosystem resource management is particularly critical, and the project is developing models to provide natural resource management options.

The assessment of opportunity for potato to fit into the cool dry season cropping systems following rice in the rainy season has been completed. Potential is good to increase the efficiency of this cropping ecology through the addition of potato. Current work concentrates on diagnosing the constraints to and increasing the productivity of the full potato-rice–based system. Ecosystem resource management is particularly critical, and the project is developing models to provide natural resource management options.
Potato production has expanded rapidly in subtropical South and Southeast Asia. Typically, rice is planted at the onset of the rainy season, irrigated potato is sown in the cooler dry season, and irrigated rice or another crop is cultivated in the hot summer season. In response to increasing land scarcity, potatoes with a high production potential per unit time are increasingly planted in intensive sequential cropping systems, such as rice-potato-rice, and in more intensive intercrops, such as rice-potato/maize. To realize the potential of the potato crop, factors that threaten the sustainability of these input-responsive cropping systems must be identified and addressed. This project assesses opportunities for expansion and sustainability of potato in the cool dry season, following a rice crop in the rainy season; diagnoses constraints to increasing and maintaining productivity in selected potato and rice-based cropping systems; and generates crop and natural resource management information on how to alleviate the most important constraints in these increasingly popular cropping systems.

Sustainable Land Use in the Andes
The Andean ecoregion is a particularly vulnerable ecosystem for sustainable agriculture. The project is providing a sound scientific, technical, and economic base for both policy and technology recommendations. Innovative tools for ecoregional research are developed through the integration of process-based crop growth models, remote sensing, economic decision models, and geographic information systems (GIS). Such integrated tools are also applicable to other global mountain ecosystems.
The Andes represent a series of unique habitat areas rich in natural resources. The inhabitants of this ecoregion confront massive poverty, increasing population growth, and rapid degradation of the natural resource base. They face the difficult challenge of increasing agricultural productivity while simultaneously decreasing stress on the environment. This project aims to characterize the Andean ecoregion for its potential for sustainable agriculture and to provide a scientific, technical, and economic base for policy and technology recommendations to decision-makers in the region. It also seeks to develop innovative methodologies for ecoregional research through an effective integration of process-based crop growth models, remote sensing, economic decision models, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Through short-term training and collaborative research, the project aims to build an international community of researchers working toward the sustainable development of agriculture in mountain areas.

Conservation and Characterization of Potato Genetic Resources
The project conserves the most comprehensive collection of wild and cultivated potatoes in the world. Characterization (both molecular and morphological) is a key objective, along with database development and availability. Significant activities focus on identifying key desirable traits and distributing healthy material throughout the world for utilization in potato improvement projects. The project provides a key input into CIP’s own breeding efforts.

The project conserves the most comprehensive collection of wild and cultivated potatoes in the world. Characterization (both molecular and morphological) is a key objective, along with database development and availability. Significant activities focus on identifying key desirable traits and distributing healthy material throughout the world for utilization in potato improvement projects. The project provides a key input into CIP’s own breeding efforts.
Objectives include conserving comprehensive collections of wild and cultivated potatoes from the diversity centers, using up-to-date technology and characterizing Latin American cultivated potatoes to determine their genetic diversity and select a core collection. Research attempts to increase utilization of the potato genetic diversity by identifying sources of desirable traits and distributing healthy seed stocks and clonal materials, and to develop and maintain a database containing all available information on the collection.

Conservation and Characterization of Sweetpotato Genetic Resources
This project conserves the most comprehensive collection of wild and cultivated Ipomoea species (including cultivated sweetpotato). New and more efficient methods of conservation are being studied (e.g., cryopreservation). The collection is being characterized for a core collection to make it more accessible to breeders. Virus eradication is a key component. Desirable traits are being identified for more efficient use of the collection.
Project objectives include maintaining comprehensive wild and cultivated sweetpotato collections using modern conservation methods. Researchers are assessing new methods for the conservation of sweetpotato genetic resources; characterizing the cultivated collection and select a core collection; and eradicating viruses from accessions in the core, evaluating them to identify sources of desirable traits. The project aims to develop and maintain a database containing all available data on the collection.

Conservation and Characterization of Andean Root and Tuber Crops
The activities of this project assist national programs in the Andes in rationalizing strategies in conservation of Andean root and tuber crops (ARTC). Nine genera are included for collection, study, and conservation of biodiversity. The potential for ARTC utilization on a wider basis is also studied through market and consumption patterns, and identification of poorly documented demand. Healthy planting material is produced for farmers. This project is perhaps the only one with a significant effort toward developing virus identification and eradication procedures for these important, underutilized crops.
Assisting national programs in rationalizing strategies for both ex situ and in situ conservation of ARTC involves the collection, study, and preservation of biodiversity, with emphasis on four priority genera (Oxalis, Ullucus, Canna, and Arracacia, including wild species) and on the material of Mirabilis expansa, Pachyrhizus ahipa, Smallanthus sonchifolius, Tropaeolum tuberosum, and Lepidium spp. (using gap-filling strategies). It is systematically assessing the potential of ARTC to promote wider use in the subtropical and tropical highlands, within and outside the Andean region, through the study of current marketing and consumption patterns. The project aims to identify latent demands these crops may satisfy in the future, as well as produce healthy planting materials for farmers.