Potato Breeding and Seed Production System Development in Russia

First, an extensive literature review was performed with respect to Potato virus Y (PVY) resistance sources and their further utilization in a breeding programme. On the basis of that review we present a scheme of backcrossing and new cultivar creation on the basis of five detected sources of PVY resistance and one source of Potato virus X resistance. Some cultivar pedigrees are presented reflecting the differences in the breeding strategies. Moreover, results of investigations on some polygenic traits such as field resistance against late blight and starch content are presented. For these purposes progenies were screened for suitable recombinant genotypes which were used in further crossings. Also the results of investigations on resistance to the potato golden nematode and on the selection of cultivars suitable for processing are briefly analysed. We also describe a programme of parallel evaluation of identical hybrid populations in different soils and climatic zones. The development of seed potato production systems facilitated the conditions to improve the quality of potato seed material, to increase potato production and to allow Russia to participate in the international potato market. Systems of virus detection, norms and methods of laboratory tests as well as requirements for quality and tolerance levels of different seed classes (generations) were unified and harmonized with European systems.