Application of tissue culture techniques in potato

Abstract

Potato is the world's most important non-cereal food crop, and therefore, it is considered one of the major food sources for humankind. Its conventional propagation is asexual, by using the tuber, which allows the accumulation and dissemination of pathogens to new cultivation areas. This fact not only impairs the yield of this solanaceous plant, but also threatens the maintenance of genotypes for commercial or breeding purposes. Due to the impossibility of using botanical seed, conservation and exchange of germplasm of this species by means of conventional methods are not feasible. In all potato-producing regions, the demand for high-quality tubers has been paramount to ensure crops production. Thus, biotechnological techniques based on tissue culture are very important. Plant tissue culture offers alternative methods of propagation by in vitro techniques that provide production and multiplication of material with high sanity. Thus, this literature review summarizes the history and current situation of tissue culture techniques applied to potato crop. Besides clonal multiplication, this biotechnological tool makes available initial indexed material to breeding programs and certified seed potato, and facilitates the exchange and conservation of germplasm. For all these reasons, the use of these techniques in potato production chain directly benefits producers by providing high-quality propagules.