Screening tuber-bearingSolanum (potato) germplasm for efficient accumulation of tuber calcium

Resistance to several pathological and physiological tuber defects has been correlated with calcium level in the peel. In this study, a representative sample of potato species (including cultivated), was grown in the greenhouse. Plants were watered with low and high calcium solutions, and the resulting tubers analyzed. Thus, potato germplasm was screened for ability to accumulate tuber calcium when a control level of calcium is available, and ability to respond when higher levels are supplied. Some wild species significantly exceeded cultivated materials in one or both of these measures. Such species may provide a resource for breeding varieties which are more efficient calcium accumulators.