Page 32 - CSHS 2022 Book of Abstracts - 2022-08-22 web version

CSHS 2022 Conference

(PO.5) Potato early dying and yield responses to tillage treatments in Eastern Canada
Dahu Chen , Judith Nyiraneza , Kamrun Nahar , Danielle Murnaghan , Jessica Matheson
2
1*
2
2
1
1. AAFC, Fredericton, NB; 2. AAFC, Charlottetown, PEI
________________
Residue tillage (RT) has shown potentials in improving soil health, suppressing soil-borne diseases, and enhancing
crop productivity in various cropping systems. Mouldboard plowing (MP) in fall is a conventional practice in eastern
Canada, which leaves the soil prone to erosion and nitrate leaching. Potato early dying (PED), caused by root lesion
nematodes (RLN, Pratylenchus spp.) and Verticillium dahliae, and declining soil organic matter have been identified
to be the major yield limiting factors in Canada. A study in the Atlantic Living Laboratory project was conducted in
commercial fields in Prince Edward Island to evaluate the influence of RT on PED and potato yield in comparison
with MP. A split field approach, where one half of the field uses MP and the other half of the field uses RT, was
employed to each field with four replicates from 2019 to 2021. Composite soil samples were collected from each
replicate before potato planting and after potato harvesting for quantification of RLN and V. dahliae. The PED
severity and tuber yields were determined between the treatments. Preliminary results showed that RT had no
effect on RLN population density either in spring or in fall. The effect of RT on V. dahliae population density was
field-specific and the average density across the fields over the years with RT was significantly higher than that of
the MP. PED severity and yield response to tillage will be presented.

(PO.6) Mutational Genetics in Diploid Potato in the CRISPR Era
Bourlaye Fofana , Ashok Somalraju , David Main , Mohsin Zaidi , Benoit Bizimungu
1*
1
2
1
1
1. AAFC, Charlottetown, PEI; 2. AAFC, Fredericton, NB
________________
Cultivated potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is the fourth most consumed food crop after rice wheat and maize.
Cultivated potato is a clonally propagated, autotetraploid crop species with a narrow genetic diversity. Its highly
heterozygous, complex genome, and tetrasomic inheritance make its genetic studies and improvement more difficult
than grain crops. Recently, diploid potato breeding has regained an interest in the potato genetics community.
Genetically, diploid potatoes are easy to work with, can be used as gene donors in the breeding process of cultivated
potatoes, and can also be grown on their own as varieties. However, diploid breeding continuum faces many
challenges including anti-nutritional factors and self-incompatibilities. Mutations are known as the key drivers for
evolution and diversification in plants. In breeding and varietal selection, sources for variation are always sought as
starting materials, and in the absence of desired natural variations in breeding populations, targeted or random
mutagenesis is applied to induce variations. Recently, a mutagenized pre-breeding diploid potato population was
developed at AAFC Charlottetown. Dr. Fofana will give an update on this genetic resource, its characterization, and
its potentials in the CRISPR era.

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