Molecular biologists from China, led by Zhang Chunzhi of the Agricultural Genomics Institute in Shenzhen, have developed an approach that allows the creation of new hybrid potato varieties in just two to three years — half the time required by traditional methods. The findings were published in the scientific journal Nature Plants. As the authors explain, traditional potato hybridization is complicated by the plant’s complex genome, which contains four sets of chromosomes, as well as its ability to reproduce both by seeds and vegetatively. While seed reproduction is necessary for breeding hybrids, active fruit and seed formation reduces tuber mass and yield. This has forced breeders to go through a dual cycle: first developing desirable traits in plants that actively flower and fruit, and then creating a final hybrid that no longer produces fruit.
The new approach bypasses these labor-intensive steps. The scientists developed a technique to obtain potato plants with a single set of chromosomes instead of the usual four. After two years of testing the viability of these forms, their genome is doubled in a specific way, and the plants are then crossed. The entire process fits within two to three years. Field trials of one resulting hybrid confirmed the method’s effectiveness: on average, each plant yielded about one kilogram of tubers, with individual cases exceeding 2.5 kilograms — an excellent result for diploid potatoes. The researchers emphasize that their strategy allows for the production of large volumes of seed material with minimal time and cost, avoiding flowers and fruit that divert resources from tubers. The approach may be applicable not only to potatoes but also to other vegetatively propagated crops.
